Earthquake not linked to oil drilling - experts
What you need to know:
While a number of people were scared by the double earth tremor, in Hoima, it was joy for farmers as it was a sign that the rains were finally here.
Kampala
For some, it felt like a strong wind blowing through, causing the windows to shake. Others wondered why the animals outside were suddenly making noise. It took many a few seconds to realise they were experiencing an earth tremor.
On Wednesday night, two tremors shook several parts of the country. The first struck at 10:21pm and a second hit at 1:22am, rumbling on for about five seconds. These followed an earlier one on Tuesday afternoon that shook parts of Kampala and areas along the Albertine Grabben.
Most people who talked to the Daily Monitor yesterday in Kampala, Masaka, Jinja, Masindi, Hoima and Mbale said they felt the tremor.
While no destruction was reported, the tremors caused fear among residents.
“The children and I were sleeping. But we woke up after the beds and the house started shaking. We hurriedly got out but then it suddenly stopped,” Mr Juma Nanyongha, a resident in Mbale, said.
Ms Lydia Nakyeyune of Muyenga, a city suburb, said she had just gone to bed when the shaking started - she did not sleep again. According to information from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the first earthquake, which is reported to have started about 51 kilometres west of Kigorobya in Hoima, measured 5.7 on the Richter scale while the second was 5.4 and the epicentre was 57 kilometres west of Kigorombya. The USGS does regular monitoring, reporting and researching earthquakes and its hazards.
By last evening, the USGS had detected 31 earthquakes in different countries, according to its website. Although two major tremors were recorded on Wednesday night, reports from Bunyoro area indicate that several weaker ones were felt through the night.
According to Mr Isaiah Tumwikirize, a senior officer at the Department of Geological Survey and Mines in Entebbe, the three tremors are a result of the activeness of the Eastern and Western Rift valleys.
“Uganda being an earthquake-prone country, it was expected. We advise the public to follow the building codes so that they design structures that can withstand earthquakes,” he said yesterday.
Although there was talk that the tremors are a result of oil drilling in Bunyoro, Mr Tumwikirize clarified that they had nothing to do with oil exploration in the Albertine valley.
“It is not true that earthquakes are caused by digging oil wells because we are mining shallow wells, instead, it is an earthquake that shifts a drilled oil well,” he said, urging the public not to panic.
While the tremors caused fear in some areas, in certain parts, it was received with excitement. The Hoima District Farmers Association coordinator, Mr Charles Kasangaki, said: “Traditionally, many have interpreted the earthquake as a start of a rainy season.” Hoima has been experiencing a dry season.
