Earthquake hits Zimbabwe

By Shamiso Dzingire

An earthquake of a magnitude of 5,5 rattled most parts of the country yesterday morning.

No injuries and infrastructure destructions were recorded although officials were still gathering information at the time of going to print.

Meteorological Services Department (Met Department), director Kwangwari Marimira said the earth tremors hit Zimbabwe at around 07:37hrs, and originated around the Chipinge area in Manicaland.

“We have recorded an earthquake which occurred in Manicaland on the border between Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The earthquake was felt by some people in Chipinge, Mutare, Masvingo and Harare,” Marimira said.

“The magnitude and epicentre of the earthquake was determined to be about 5,5 and the epicentre is 53 kilometres SSE of Chipinge, Zimbabwe.”

The earthquake, which was also felt in Marondera, Nyanga and Gweru, shook large buildings and rattled windows.

Most earthquakes that occur in the region are due to natural plate tectonics attributed to the East African Rift System which extends into Mozambique.

Manicaland is a seismically active region, evidenced by the many moderate to large earthquakes occurring each year.

In 2016 alone, 50 earthquakes ranging from magnitudes between 1,5 to 4,6 on the Ritcher scale were experienced in the country and some were felt in Kariba, Karoi, Bulawayo and Chipinge.

The Met Department has previously warned that the country is likely to experience more tremors yearly.

The earthquakes in Zimbabwe are linked to those occurring in Mozambique, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya — countries in the African Rift valley. Daily News