Sunday 17 September 2017

Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake in South Kivu Province, Dempcratic Republic of Congo.

The United States Geological Survey Recorded a Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake at a depth of 13 km about 25 km to the southwest of the city of Bukavu in South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, at about 7.45 pm local time (about 5.45 pm GMT) on Friday 15 September 2017. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event at this time, but it was felt  across much of the Lake Kivu Basin and Rwanda.

The approximate location of the 15 September 2017 South Kivu Earthquake. USGS.

Lake 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.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.

See also...
 
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/over-100-feared-dead-after-landslide-in.htmlhttp://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/magnitude-53-earthquake-beneath-lake.html
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/kidnapped-mineworkers-released-in.htmlhttp://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/gorilla-beringei-graueri-grauers.html
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/burundi-earthquake-causes-at-least-two.htmlhttp://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/eruptions-from-new-vent-on-mount.html
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