A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 26 km southeast of Kariba on Friday, December 20, at 2:15 AM Central Africa Time (CAT).

According to Volcano Discovery, the earthquake occurred 10 km below the surface, causing moderate shaking near the epicentre. Reads the report in part:

The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Kariba, a town with 28,000 inhabitants in Zimbabwe, in 26 km (16 mi) distance northwest of the epicenter. People likely experienced light shaking there.

In the capital of Zimbabwe, Harare, 256 km (159 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as very weak shaking.

The epicentre of an earthquake is the point on the Earth’s surface that is directly above the focus, where the earthquake originates.

It’s essentially the spot on the ground that experiences the most intense shaking and often the greatest damage during an earthquake.

Earth tremors are common in Kariba primarily due to reservoir-induced seismicity. This phenomenon occurs because of the immense weight of the water in the Kariba Dam.

When the dam was filled in the 1960s, it began to induce seismic activity in the region. The water load causes stress on the Earth’s crust, leading to frequent tremors.

These tremors are generally of low to moderate magnitude and have not been known to affect the dam’s structural integrity.

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