Expert Reveals Cause of Earth Tremors in Kenya & Tanzania

On the evening of Wednesday, August 12, 2020, parts of Kenya and Tanzania experienced earth tremors.

Geophysics/Seismology expert Gladys Kianji who is also a lecturer at the University of Nairobi explained that the tremors were caused by a movement in tectonic plates. 

"We have many faultlines which are moving once in a while due to tectonic and magmatic movement in the ground," she explained during a converstion with Jeff Koinange on Citizen TV bulletin.

Geophysics/Seismology expert Gladys Kianji who is also a lecturer at the University of Nairobi

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She added that East African was continuously recording tremors of smaller magnitudes, some of which could not be felt. 

A topographic map showing the epicentre of the magnitude 5.9 tremor recorded in Kenya and Tanzania on August 12, 2020

According to a report by the United States Geological Survey, a scientific agency of the United States government, the quake was centred in the ocean about 34 kilometres east of Kuruti Island in Tanzania.

It struck just 15 kilometers below the seafloor, making it a very shallow earthquake.

The tremor was recorded to have a magnitude of 5.9 but one within the range of 7.5 would have been enough to trigger a tsunami.

"We don't expect a tsunami but we expect some flooding along the coastlines," Kianji explained.

She added that the 6.0 tremor occured in a highly populated or built area, it would have caused damage to buildings.

In the last two years, 4 earth tremors have been reported in Kenya, with two of them affecting the coast. 

On March 13, 2020, a magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck parts of Tanzania and coastal Kenya.  

In March 2019, Kenya experienced a tremor of magnitude 4.8. The tremor was linked to an earthquake that struck Indonesia earlier that day.

Another quake was reported in August that same year. The media reported that the tremor was felt in some parts of Nairobi, Ruiru, Mombasa and Tanzania.

Just recently in June 2020, a tremor demolished Koinange Primary School's wall in Nakuru and also damaged roads in the area.

A report by Kengen Hydropower Company showed that the town had tectonic shifts running approximately 5 kilometers underneath the ground which continue to be affected by the ongoing heavy rains.