from MAVHUTO BANDA in Lilongwe, Malawi
Malawi Bureau
LILONGWE, (CAJ News) – MALAWI, one of the world’s poorest countries and most impacted by climate change, is reeling from an earthquake.
The quake, measured at 5.0 on the Richter Scale, occurred in the iconic Lake Malawi late Sunday morning.
Located among Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, it is the fourth largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, the ninth largest lake in the world by area and the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa.
Authorities report that the epicenter was about 2km northwest of Mbamba Bay, Tanzania.
The tremor occurred at a depth of about 10km.
Light shaking was said to be felt throughout much of northern and central Malawi, southwestern Tanzania, northwestern Mozambique and far eastern Zambia.
There had been no initial reports of damage or casualties as a result of the earthquake at the time of publishing this report.
According to the thinktank, Crisis24, significant damage was unlikely but it could take several hours until authorities could conduct comprehensive damage assessments, especially in remote areas.
“Light aftershocks are likely over the coming days,” it stated.
It is forecast authorities might temporarily shut down transportation infrastructure in the tremor zone to check for damage.
Minor disruptions are projected to occur during shutdowns.
Utility outages are forecast, particularly near the earthquake’s epicentre.
The Southern African country of over 21,5 million people has over the years suffered devastating droughts and floods, linked to climate change.
– CAJ News