Magnitude 5.9 quake hits Malawi after earlier tremors

Tue Dec 8, 2009 5:18am GMT

* Quake hits close to Tanzanian border

* Follows series of tremors since Sunday

* No casualties known

(Changes dateline from Washington, adds quotes)

BLANTYRE, Dec 8 (Reuters) - More houses collapsed in Malawi's northern Karonga District on Tuesday when earth tremors hit the southern African country for a third day on Tuesday.

The U.S. Geological Survey said a magnitude 5.9 quake, only 6.2 miles (10 km) deep, struck the uranium-rich region early on Tuesday, following a series of quakes in the same area.

Karonga District Assembly Chief Executive Officer Gasten Macheka said the tremors continued throughout the night.

"The tremors continued mildly until we felt the intense one this morning. There are no known casualties at this point but we are continuing to monitor the situation," he told Reuters.

The district had evacuated people from their homes when the first quakes hit on Sunday for fear of a recurrence.

"Houses are continuing to fall in the villages and people are continuing to sleep outside their homes," Macheka said.

The epicenter was 110 miles (175 km) north of Mzuzu, Malawi's third largest city, and 75 miles (125 km) southeast of the Tanzanian town of Mbeya.

Police said they were assessing the situation and would give a report later in the morning.

Authorities in Karonga were on high alert in the aftermath of the tremors, which on Sunday injured six people, two seriously, and caused extensive damage to houses, schools and some government offices.

Director of the Malawi Geological Survey Leonard Kalindekafe said the epicentre of the quake was around Chilumba, a small port trading centre on Lake Malawi. He said Malawi's position within the Great Rift Valley meant such tremors were common.

The area is close to the Tanzanian border and the east African country's southern town of Mbeya, where there were no initial reports of injuries or damage.

"I felt it at about 6:15 a.m. (0315 GMT). We have no information about people who have been injured. We have no information of buildings which have fallen down," said Diwani Athumani, regional crimes officer in Mbeya.

Output at Kayelekera uranium mine, owned by Australian Paladin Energy, was not affected by the earlier quakes, which Macheka said began at 1930 GMT on Sunday and continued until 1000 GMT on Monday. The U.S. Geological Survey said those quakes measured between 5.1 and 5.8.

In 1989, a 6.6 earthquake killed at least 9 people and injured 100 in central Malawi and left another 50,000 homeless, according to the USGS. (Reporting by Sandra Maler in Washington, Frank Phiri in Blantyre and Katrina Manson in Dar es Salaam; writing by Agnieszka Flak; editing by Philippa Fletcher)





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