Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake in the Singida Region of central Tanzania.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, roughly 39 km to the southeast of the town of Ikungi in the Singida Region of northern Tanzania, slightly after 6.40 pm local time (slightly after 3.40 pm GMT) on Wednesday 6 September 2023. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event (nor would any be expected with an event of this size), but people have reported feeling it locally.

The approximate location of the 5 September 2023 Singida Earthquake. USGS.

Western Tanzania lies within the of the Great Rift Valley, which is slowly splitting the African Plate in two along a line from the Red Sea through Ethiopia, and which includes the great lakes and volcanoes of east-central Africa. This has the potential to open into a new ocean over the next few tens of millions of years, splitting Africa into two new, smaller, continents; Nubia to the west and Somalia to the east.

Movement on the African Rift Valley, with associated volcanoes. Rob Gamesby/Cool Geography.

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Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake to the south of Massawa, Eritrea.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km, roughly 42 km to the south of the city of Massawa in central Eritrea, at about 8.15 pm local time (about 5.15 pm GMT) on Tuesday 1 August 2023. There are no reports of any damage or injuries from this quake, but people have reported feeling the event in Asmara, the capitol of Eritrea, as well as in Tigray Province, Ethiopia.

The approximate location of the 1 August 2023 Eritrea Earthquake. USGS.

The deserts of Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea are extremely volcanically active, with dozens of volcanoes fed by an emerging divergent margin along the East African Rift; the volcano Erta Ale is on the Ethiopian Rift, the boundary between the Nubian Plate and the Danakil Microplate. The African Plate is slowly splitting apart along the Ethiopian Rift and the East African Rift to the south (which is splitting the Nubian Plate to the West from the Somali Plate to the East). Arabia was a part of Africa till about thirty million years ago, when it was split away by the opening of the Red Sea Rift (part of the same rift system), and in time the Ethiopian and East African Rifts are likely to split Africa into a number of new landmasses. This rifting exerts pressure on the rocks around the margin of the sea, slowly pushing them apart, not smoothly but in fits and starts as the pressure overcomes the tendency of the rocks to stick together, creating shocks that we experience as Earthquakes.

Rifting in East Africa. The Danakil Microplate is the red triangle to the east of the Afar depression at the southern end of the Red Sea. Università degli Studi di Firenze.

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Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake shakes Johannesburg, South Africa

The South African Council for Geosciences recorded a Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake beneath the city of Boksburg, East Rand urban conurbation of Gauteng Province, South Africa, slightly before 2.40 am local time (slightly before 0.40 am GMT) on Sunday 11 June 2023. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, though many people reported feeling it between Pretoria, Kimberley, and the Eswatini border.  

The approximate location of the 11 May 2023 Boksburg Earthquake. USGS.

Earthquakes of any size are relatively rare in South Africa and because of this rarity it is hard to make precise judgements about the cause of quakes in South Africa, due to a paucity of data. Northwestern South Africa is close the southern end of the Great Rift Valley exits the continent and passes out under the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique. The Great Rift Valley is slowly splitting the African Plate in two allow a line from the Red Sea through Ethiopia, and which includes the great lakes and volcanoes of east-central Africa. This has the potential to open into a new ocean over the next few tens of millions of years, splitting Africa into two new, smaller, continents; Nubia to the west and Somalia to the east.

Movement on the African Rift Valley, with associated volcanoes. Rob Gamesby/Cool Geography.

Earthquakes can also sometimes be triggered by mining activity, and settling movements at old mine sites, and the location of the Boksburg mine is close to the East Rand Proprietary Mine, from which gold was excavated between its founding in 1893 and closure in 2008. A Magnitude 4.4 event would be exceptionally large for a mine-related Earthquake, but the East Rand Mine is no ordinary mine site, it was once the deepest mine in South Africa (and therefore the deepest mine in the world, the world's six deepest mines all being in South Africa). The East Rand Mine reached a depth of 3.585 km by the time it closed, a depth which has been surpassed only by four other mines; the Savuku Gold Mine in Carletonville, Gauteng Province, which reached 3.7 km in depth by the time of its closure in 2017; the TauTona Mine, also in Carletonville, which reached 3.9 km deep by the time it closed in 2018, and the Mponeng Gold Mine, in Mponeng, Gauteng Province, which is 4.0 km deep and still active.

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Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake in southern Eritrea.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km, in southern Eritrea, roughly 64 km to the north of the city of Ādīgrat in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, slightly after 3.20 pm local time (slightly after 12.20 pm GMT) on Monday 26 December 2022. There are no reports of any damage or injuries from this quake, but people may have felt it locally.

The approximate location of the 26 December 2022 Eritrea Earthquake. USGS.

The deserts of Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea are extremely volcanically active, with dozens of volcanoes fed by an emerging divergent margin along the East African Rift; the volcano Erta Ale is on the Ethiopian Rift, the boundary between the Nubian Plate and the Danakil Microplate. The African Plate is slowly splitting apart along the Ethiopian Rift and the East African Rift to the south (which is splitting the Nubian Plate to the West from the Somali Plate to the East). Arabia was a part of Africa till about thirty million years ago, when it was split away by the opening of the Red Sea Rift (part of the same rift system), and in time the Ethiopian and East African Rifts are likely to split Africa into a number of new landmasses. This rifting exerts pressure on the rocks around the margin of the sea, slowly pushing them apart, not smoothly but in fits and starts as the pressure overcomes the tendency of the rocks to stick together, creating shocks that we experience as Earthquakes.

Rifting in East Africa. The Danakil Microplate is the red triangle to the east of the Afar depression at the southern end of the Red Sea. Università degli Studi di Firenze.

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Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake in South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The United States Geological Survey Recorded a Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km about 91 km to the west of the city of Uvira in South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, slightly after 1.30 pm local time (slightly after 11.30 am GMT) on Wednesday 24 March 2021. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event at this time, but is likely to have been felt locally.

 

The approximate location of the 24 March 2021 South Kivu Earthquake. USGS.

South Kivu lies within the the of the Great Rift Valley, which is slowly splitting the African Plate in two along a line from the Red Sea through Ethiopia, and which includes the great lakes and volcanoes of east-central Africa. This has the potential to open into a new ocean over the next few tens of millions of years, splitting Africa into two new, smaller, continents; Nubia to the west and Somalia to the east.

 

Movement on the African Rift Valley, with associated volcanoes. Rob Gamesby/Cool Geography.

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Magnitude 4.2 Earthquake in Northern Province, Zambia.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.2 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km roughly 5 km to the southwest of the town of Mbala in Northern Province, Zambia, slightly after 6.45 am local time (slightly after 4.45 am GMT) on Thursday 21 January 2021. A quake of this size is not normally large enough to present any threat to Human life or property, but may have been felt locally.

 

The approximate location of the 21 January 2021 Northern Province Earthquake. USGS.

Earthquakes are rare in Southern Africa, making this one of the largest Earthquakes ever recorded in the country. Because of this rarity it is hard to make precise judgements about the cause of quakes in the region, due to a paucity of data. Botswana is close the southern end of the Great Rift Valley exits the continent and passes out under the Indian Ocean. The Great Rift Valley is slowly splitting the African Plate in two allow a line from the Red Sea through Ethiopia, and which includes the great lakes and volcanoes of east-central Africa. This has the potential to open into a new ocean over the next few tens of millions of years, splitting Africa into two new, smaller, continents; Nubia to the west and Somalia to the east.  

 

Movement on the African Rift Valley, with associated volcanoes. Rob Gamesby/Cool Geography.

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Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake in northeast Eritrea.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km, roughly 91 km to the north of the city of Ak'ordat in the Gash-Barka Region of Eritrea, slightly after 1.20 am local time on Friday 25 December 2020 (slightly after 10.20 pm on Thursday 24 December GMT). There are no reports of any damage or injuries from this quake, but people may have felt it locally.

 

The approximate location of the 25 December 2020 Eritrea Earthquake. USGS.

The deserts of Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea are extremely volcanically active, with dozens of volcanoes fed by an emerging divergent margin along the East African Rift; the volcano Erta Ale is on the Ethiopian Rift, the boundary between the Nubian Plate and the Danakil Microplate. The African Plate is slowly splitting apart along the Ethiopian Rift and the East African Rift to the south (which is splitting the Nubian Plate to the West from the Somali Plate to the East). Arabia was a part of Africa till about thirty million years ago, when it was split away by the opening of the Red Sea Rift (part of the same rift system), and in time the Ethiopian and East African Rifts are likely to split Africa into a number of new landmasses. This rifting exerts pressure on the rocks around the margin of the sea, slowly pushing them apart, not smoothly but in fits and starts as the pressure overcomes the tendency of the rocks to stick together, creating shocks that we experience as Earthquakes.

 

Rifting in East Africa. The Danakil Microplate is the red triangle to the east of the Afar depression at the southern end of the Red Sea. Università degli Studi di Firenze.

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