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Elita Chikwati, Harare Bureau
An earthquake that registered of 5,6 on the Richter scale was recorded in Mozambique and felt in Chipinge on Thursday evening.

In a statement yesterday, Meteorological Services Department seismologist Mr Kwangwari Marimira, said the earthquake occurred at 22.06 local time.

“The earthquake was felt in Chipinge and surrounding areas. A number of people in Chipinge felt the earthquake. They felt the movements, heard the rumbling and the shaking and most were frightened.

“Mozambique and surrounding areas in Manicaland are within the line of weakness of the Great East African Rift System, which extends all the way from the Red Sea in the north to Manicaland and into Mozambique in the south. We recorded a number of foreshocks on September 21 thus indicating how susceptible the area is to earthquakes,” he said.

He said earthquakes were the most destructive natural hazards that occured in most countries and killed thousands every year.

In 2006 during another Mozambique earthquake of 7.2 which was felt throughout Zimbabwe, some buildings were destroyed in Chipinge, thus there is a need to construct strong buildings adhering to set regulations.

“In Zimbabwe in 2016 alone we’ve recorded a number of earthquakes and some were felt in Kariba, Karoi, and Bulawayo and in Chipinge. On August 23 2016 an earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale was experienced north of Karoi Town at 15.02 PM.

“The main causes of earthquakes in Zimbabwe are largely plate tectonics closely related to the East African Rift System, mining and reservoir induced. We’ve recorded a number of mining induced earthquakes in Matabeleland South especially in Gwanda and also in the Midlands,” he said.

Large destructive earthquakes have occurred worldwide in highly urbanised areas in 2016 and have caused considerable damage and loss of lives in Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Ecuador and India.