An earthquake of 5.3 magnitude occurred near Mansa Zambia yesterday at about 20.30hrs.The effects were felt in Luapula, Copperbelt, North Western, Western, Central and Provinces.
The earth tremor lasted for about 40 seconds.No structural damage has been reported.
Earthquakes are usually caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes the seismic waves that make the ground shake.
Yes, this happened. It was scary, but I would rather we call it an Earth Tremor. I am not sure about the scale… who measured it? Do we have a measuring stationin Mansa?
It was measured by serious people with adequate training and facilities provided for by good a governance environment in the USA. They monitor such events throught out the world
Zambia? non story for me.
This is just zambians mistaking fireworks for an earthquake
Firework IS NOT earthquake people. Go home.
Thanks
@mushita
I never read your rubbish, but this time I did.
ID!OT ! You really are a piece of SH!T.
You have a mental problem. Go get help!
Zambia has too many problems already and cannot afford anymore especially of Earth Quake magnitude, God forbid…
Mushota you are a case, you know that? LOL!!! This tickled me like hell. Thats why you will win the 2014 blogger of the year award. Use the money to build a play park for kids in Chitulika village, Mpika to honor the late President Sata. Call it “Mushota Kids Amusement Park”.
When Jesus was crucified, there was a tremor. Its an indication that a God Choosen leader has gone. MHSRIP
5.3? Really? What scale and on which fault line?
Mansa you say? Isn’t Mansa known for ama witches maybe there was an epic battle with utulumbas being flung from here to there and the earth tremor was the consequence. Wonder who won…..
It is common in Zambia , no big deal
It has been confirmed by the United States geological service. see their site. I got so excited that I thought it could even be the second coming of the great I AM.
A tremor of 5.3 is not a small or minor tremor.
The quake that occurred in Haiti was 4.7, and japan was around 5.8.
This was as bad as it comes
NO NO NO, the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti were much bigger than this one. Both of those were greater than 8.0 on the reactor scale. A 5.3 is considered a small to medium earthquake. Nothern province is in an active tectonic zone at the tail end of the east African plate. Mozambique and Tanzania have been experiencing earthquakes of similar magnitude recently. Something is going on in this region. And yes, I studied Seismology in school.
Good Point @8.1: Bricklayer. Haiti quake was 7.0 on the richter scale. Also the ritcher scale is non linear its logarithimic based on orders of magnitude used to measure things like earth earthquakes, PH of solutions, light intensity etc. Starting point is 10 raised to power 0=1 followed by 10 raised to the power 1=10 followed by 10 raised to the power 2= 100, 10 raised to the power 3 =1000. The diference between & quakes of 5 to that of 7 on the ricther scale is a 100 fold as 7-5= 2 raise 10 to the power 2 = 100. The haiti quake was approx 100 time more powerful than the Samfya quake. The amplitude of the P and S waves (related to density of the medium/higher density mediums will smother the amplitude) will affect destructive energy so will the depth. Ooh, I miss my science…
That tremor was a sign that the MAN was taken to hell by the Angel of death!
I wish there were casualties so that we could access relief moneys for my N.G. O. and wish it was never reported cause that is money gone.
This is why Zambia can not develop with people like (Dead). I am sure that The NGO money goes straight into your pockets. Shame on you.
Time: 2014-11-02 20:25:41 UTC+02:00, Location:10.971°S 29.696°E, Depth:10.0km. US geological survey website . The area in top of Northern & Luapula provinces is occupied by a failed rift (branching off the great East African rift of lakes Tanganyika and Malawi belong represented by an inverted Y shape. This failed rift has geomorphological,fault controlled depressions which have allowed surface water bodies such Lakes Mweru and Mweru wantipa to form. An extension of this failed rift would include the Luapula river valley. The weight of such water bodies on these faults is often the cause of earth tremors in this part of the world as geostatic forces in disequilibrium adjust themselves through this geodynamic process releasing tremendous energy in the process.
CONTD: The epicentre of this was on the NNW shores of lake Bangweulu which is a depression lake quite unrelated to the Mweru failed rift (until proven otherwise).This tremor is most likely due to a fauIt/unconformity/or geological boundary between the much older Bangweulu block rocks(“craton”) 1800 million years old to the NNW and the younger Katangan metasediments 800 million years old to the SSE. The action of the weight of water in lake Bangweulu coupled with its lubricating effect along the geological boundary/fault/unconformity caused blocks/masses of rock to shift to counter some geostatic disequilibrium.
So, out of all this plagiarised info, were does it state the 5.3 scale? Mwilatinya abantu!! State facts only. What occured is a minor tremor. Commonly called as makumba by Aushis.
My folks in Ndola Kansenshi area experienced the tremor last night. its like the fault ran from Mansa through the Congo DRC to the Copperbelt. it measured 0.3m/s on the vibrometer classified as class III -Slight, Felt indoors by several people. Meaning those who were outside around 20hrs didn’t feel a thing. Again we need to educate our people on what to do in such situations like, Run outdoors, runaway from tall buildings. those who find themselves out quickly, get under the tables or anything stronger to withstand falling objects. Tremors are not novel in Zambia especially along the muchinga escarpment fault. that includes central province, Muchinga, Northern and Copperbelt. we need disaster risk reduction skills as a nation.
The Richter scale of 5.3!! Iweeee?? Are you kicking?? What happened is a minor tremor, common in Luapula & felt in parts of copperbelt. Luapulans call it MAKUMBA and no matter how scientific your explanation may be, they regard it as a good omen depicting great CATAPILLAR havests, fish and all farm products. Am sure there was allulations & dancing a cross the AUSHIlands. The last time it occurred (1997 about midmorning) I captured the spectacle on stills. Interesting.
U’re right i remember the 1997 minor earth quack, by the i was in KASAMA. It was such a great experience.
From time to time this happens in the Luapula Valley. They call it Makumba and sometime the associate with either a good or bad harvest crop especially cassava. Even fishing signs are associated with this phenomenal. It is not strange.
Ba Ndaje Kahks, you are right, when I felt the tremor, I too knew that it is Makumba. It is mostly associated with good yield or a death of a King. In my view, it is due to the death of the great King of Kings wa Zambia. MHRIP.
5.9 on the Ritcher can be devastating. It can be a major earthquake.Growing up Luapula we used to experience tremors at least once a year.Ati ninshi imfumu ilepilibuka mumbokoshi.
@ Kakolwe @12.1: Don’t be lazy. Google usgs Zambia earthquakes. And you will have all the data including the 5.3 magnitude on the ricther scale. A 5.3 magnitude earthquake has about 10% energy of the Hiroshima atomic bomb (10% of the Hiroshima atomic bomb is equivalent to about 1344 Tons of TriNitroToluene (TNT) explosives). Mud and unreinforced concrete building is vicinity escaped possible collapse due to the ductile (not brittle) nature of metamorphosed rocks in this part of the world. Also the depth at which the earthquake occurred smothered the seismic shocks as the shock waves tend to weaken (are inversely proportional) to the distance travelled and density of the medium/rocks in which the travel. For your info my background is in Science and engineering. No plagiarism
Why do I need to google? Ain’t my education enough? That is why they say “Respect your elders, they went through school without google”.
Your argument NEEDED to state the reichter reading at the epicenter and cover the exponential amplitude reduction as we moved further from the centre. At which point you may have realised that Mansa is not North of Bangweulu and so your reasons for the containment of the force may have come in. But, no problem, you are a google product and anything goes.
@Kakolwe: 17.1 & 14: You call yourself “educated” and draw inferences from “Makumba” for good harvests, catepillar/larve, fish?? What a joke! You are not different from Mushota!! The scientists at usgs are not locals & should be excused for using the provincial capital’s name. However, coordinates dont lie and plotted correctly on the shores of Bangweulu. LT or any online story is not Gospel truth so learn to verify from different sources. Thats what an EDUCATED person does not just ranting superstitions and mixing them with “copy & paste science” which u dont even understand!!
Larger earthquakes occur less frequently, the relationship being exponential; for example, roughly ten times as many earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 occur in a particular time period than earthquakes larger than magnitude 5. In the (low seismicity) United Kingdom, for example, it has been calculated that the average recurrences are: an earthquake of 3.7–4.6 every year, an earthquake of 4.7–5.5 every 10 years, and an earthquake of 5.6 or larger every 100 years. (Online News)
we are yet to hear more earth quakes read Mathew 24.
So where did they get this magnitude scale of 5.3? What kind of journalism is this why can’t you at least have a comment from someone from the Met. Office? This is lazy journalism …all it takes is just one phone call and a browse on the internet.
The other time a tremor happened in the same region was in 2002 when I was born. If it happened when I was born, then another philosopher was probably born yesterday. Since many more philosophers are yet to be born, so expect more of such tremors (simple logic).
MUSHOTA CRACKS MY RIBS HAHAHAHAHAHA….IF U WERE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE I DEFINATLEY GIVE U A VOTE
Mushota you are very funny…… anyway yesterday an old man I know come by the office to see then had a chit chat about the events happening in Zambia but I was intrigued by his interpretation of the Tremor. He said whites would give a scientific explanation but actually ishi nintambi shesu ukufumafye na akale that happened because Sata ali nimfumu iya pelwa ku bantu. chilya muletila chi tremor chafumime mu ma swamps ku Samfya na aba kubufumu balishiba. It happened to show you the importance of the leader you have lost….. he went and on about things i could neither or understand or contend with but anyway he said a lot and for me, well I thought it was rather scientific thing coz i have ready a lot about earthquakes and i know how it happens but who knows maybe it was to honor M.C Sata