Earthquake hits Binga

A 4,5 MAGNITUDE earthquake was felt in Binga in the early hours of Monday with the epicentre about 15km from Lake Kariba.  

The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) said the earthquake hit at around 3.39am and there was no report of damage to property, death or injuries. In a statement, the MSD said the earthquake's epicentre was Binga.

"An earthquake was felt in Binga today the 9th of August 2021 at 03.39am local time and the magnitude was determined to be 4,5. The epicentre is in Zimbabwe, Binga area about 15km from the lake. No reports of damage were received, however, more enquires would be made to determine its intensity in the locality and to determine the exact areas it was felt," said the MSD.

It said officers at the Binga meteorological office and staff from Binga Lake Navigation indicated that they felt the vibrations and a number of people whom they talked to over the phone felt the earthquake in Binga.

MSD head of forecasting Mr James Ngoma said there are thousands of such tremors around Lake Kariba each year and some were not reported to the general public because their intensity is insignificant. Only those whose magnitude is above 4,5 on the Richter scale are made public to alert the population.