27 November 2008
Maputo — A small earthquake, with a magnitude of 3.9 degrees on the Richter scale, rattled several regions in the northern province of Nampula in Mozambique on Wednesday in the early hours of the morning.
According to sources from the Ministry of Mineral Resources, the epicentre of the quake was in the Lago district, Northern Province of Niassa.
Few hours later, around 16.30 hours local time, a more powerful earthquake, with a magnitude of 5 degrees on the Richter scale, rattled the district of Machaze, central province of Manica, causing partial destruction of a primary school located in the region of Macundane, administrative post of Chitobe.
The same quake hit with some intensity the region of Mabote, in northern region of Inhambane province, south Mozambique.
So far, there are no reports of any damage to property in Inhambane. Also, there are no reports of any casualty in all four provinces hit by the quakes.
According to Dave Samboco, an expert on seismic and magnetic monitoring with the Ministry of Mineral Resources in Nampula, besides the capital Nampula, the earthquake was felt in vast areas of the province, mainly in the southern coastal districts of Mogincual, Moma, Angoche, Mogovolas and Murrupula, causing panic among the local residents.
Cited on the Thursday's issue of the daily "Noticias", Manuel Cabral, administrator of the Lago district, in Niassa, said that the mood among local residents is calm, including in the town of Metangula, capital district, with no physical evidence or live testimony of the earthquake.
Lago district is believed to have been the epicentre of the earthquake that struck Nampula.
"Everything is normal. Virtually nothing happened here. We heard rumours from some people claiming that there was an earthquake, but no one came forward to give a live testimony. However, we do not discard the possibility of its occurrence because, in fact, Lago district is prone to this kind of phenomenon, "said the Cabral.
The province of Nampula has a Seismographic Centre that was refurbished and equipped nearly one year ago. However, according to the daily "Noticias", the station remains idle due to lack of qualified staff for the required technical assistance.
Nampula was affected by earthquakes, in 1998 and 2003, with no casualties.
Meanwhile, in the district of Machaze, central province of Manica, where the second tremor was felt for nearly two minutes, there was panic among the local communities, with many people rushing from their homes and business in search for safety.
Alice Tamele, Machaze Administrator, said that although the earthquake was felt around 16.30 hours, there are no reports of any casualties.
Technical teams have already been deployed to assess and monitor the situation in the regions of Chipopopo and Guacuanhe in the administrative post of Save, the epicentre of the second earthquake and where the quake was felt most.
News are still scarce of any eventual casualties and property damage in that region, due to the lack of communication with the surveying teams, to provide data of their findings.
Guacuanhe was the epicentre of an earthquake that in 2006 shook the district of Machaze, causing human casualties and property damage.
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