Kariba experiences earth tremors
Nevanji Munyaradzi Chiondegwa
People in Kariba recently experienced a light earthquake of a magnitude of M4.3 on the Ritcher Scale.
The tremors which set the whole tourist town into talking was attributed to the presence of Lake Kariba.
In a statement Zambezi River Authority, Chief Executive Officer Engineer Munyaradzi Munodawafa said the tremors were more profound near Bumi Hills.
“An earthquake of magnitude M4.3 occurred and was felt in the Kariba and surrounding areas at 22:03 hours (10PM) on 2 August 2022. The epicentre was triangulated by the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) of Zimbabwe to approximately 50km South of Kariba Dam near Bumi Hills. Although this is a naturally active seismic area, it started experiencing increased seismicity after the filling of Lake Kariba in the 1960s. Accordingly, the earthquakes are normal and expected. They are referred to as ‘reservoir induced tremors” because they are attributed to the presence of the lake,” said Engineer Munodawafa.
There have been two earthquakes of equivalent magnitudes and several others of smaller magnitudes occurred south of the Kariba Dam in the past twelve months.
Of note are magnitude M4.5 and M4.6 earthquakes that occurred on 9 August 2021 and 24 May 2022, with epicentres near Binga and below the Lake respectively.
Engineer Munodawafa assured the people who stay around the lake areas saying, “We wish to assure the public and those domiciled in and around the affected areas that tremors of this magnitude are not expected to affect the structural integrity of the Kariba Dam. We further confirm that there were no unusual observations made from the inspections that were carried out on the morning of 3rd August 2022 nor from the analysis of dam safety data that is collected from several instruments that monitor the behaviour of the dam.”
An earthquake is what occurs when two plates of the earth suddenly slip past one another.
The surface where they slip is called a fault plane.
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