Botswana earthquake: Aftershocks felt in Maputo, no damage reported

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Botswana earthquake: Aftershocks felt in Maputo, no damage reported

2:33 CAT | 04 Apr 2017

Maputo experienced a minor earthquake last night, causing consternation among residents of high-rise buildings in the capital.

First reports came from citizens living in buildings located along Avenida Eduardo Mondlane and in the Torres Vermelhas (Red Towers), whose residents fled their homes fearing for their safety.

For some hours, the areas outside buildings in the Bairro Central became assembly points where people who had fled their homes offered each other comfort after the fright.

A statement from the National Directorate of Mines confirmed that the 6.5 magnitude quake struck around 7.45pm in Moijabana region, north-west of Gaberone, in Botswana. According to the same source, there was no record of any damage in Mozambican territory.

The shock was also felt in South Africa, especially in Johannesburg and Pretoria. Seismometers registered a 5.2-magnitude earthquake in Stilfontein, near Johannesburg.

Mozambique is susceptible to earthquakes, with yesterday’s the second in six months, after a 5.5-magnitude quake was recorded in September in Manica. No damage was reported on that occasion either. In 2006, five people were killed and 27 injured when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck in Espunga, Manica.

Scientists say that the country’s location, crossed by the Great Rift Valley, makes it vulnerable to earthquakes, and some years ago authorities undertook an educational campaigns on what to do when earthquakes strike.

Aftershocks of between 6.0 and 6.9 degrees on the Richer scale are potentially the most damaging in densely populated areas.

Source: Noticias