Magnitude 4.8 quake left houses with cracks in Kilimanjanro

Moshi. Magnitude 4.8 Richter scale earthquake, which struck parts of northern region and in neighbouring Kenya, has left many houses in Kilimanjaro Region cracked.

The quake hit parts of East Africa on March 24. There were no human casualties.

A senior Geological Survey of Tanzania (GST) official Gabriel Mbogoni said the earthquake was normal in the Great Rift Valley.

Mr Mbogoni said there were reports of cracked houses in Kilimanjaro, which borders Taveta—a town in Kenya, which was hit hard.

“Mt Kilimanjaro is within a branch of the Great Rift Valley, so earthquakes in such areas range from tremors to devastating quakes,” he said.

A villager in Marina, in North Mwika, Neema Mangesho said everything was shaking for a few seconds as they took dinner.

According to her, they discovered several cracks in the morning, which require major repairs.

“We were taking our dinner when the ground started shaking. Everybody was confused and did not know where to run for safety,” she said.

Ms Mangesho said they were lucky it was a tremor.