Earthquakes in Arusha – the latest

Saturday 1st September 2007

Life is getting back to normal following two sizeable earthquakes near the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha.

The city, a base for most of the trekking agencies that organize treks up Kilimanjaro, was first shaken by a quake measuring 6 on the Richter scale back on July 17th; according to estimates, the quake lasted anywhere from 15 seconds to 3 minutes, and occurred at about 5pm, when people were travelling home after a day’s work.

According to the British Geological Survey, that’s the equivalent of a 30 kiloton nuclear explosion. The quake caused buildings to sway and thousands of people to rush into the streets.

By comparison, the quake in Japan at around the same time that caused nine deaths was of magnitude 6.8.

The quake, and a subsequent, less serious one on August 21st, was caused by geological movements in the Rift Valley, a fault line cutting through East Africa that also plays host to Kilimanjaro.

The epicentre of the African quake on this occasion lay some 85km north-west of Arusha, between the city and the Kenyan capital Nairobi, which also felt tremors. The exact location was near the Lake Natron region, near the volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai, which recently erupted. (Interestingly, the volcano is the most sacred to the Maasai; their opinions on the eruption and subsequent earthquake have yet to be recorded.)

There were no reported casualties despite the magnitude, with the Tanzanian national parks of Serengeti and Ngorogoro all feeling the effects.

Trekkers due to visit Arusha as part of their Kilimanjaro itinerary will be relieved to know that the quake caused no major lasting damage, and that communications – which were initially severely disrupted in the quake, with internet and mobile phone connections
Severely affected – are all now virtually back to normal.

As a sad footnote to the whole affair, however, an earthquake-detecting device that had been installed in the Longido area, north of the epicentre, has already been vandalized. It was put out of order after someone stole the power supply unit. Other detectors had previously been put out of action, too. Ironically, the Tanzanian government are looking to install new detectors inside prison buildings, considering them to be the safest places for such devices.

August 2007 news >>