Earth Tremor Destroys Over 500 Houses In DR Congo
The tremor has damaged at least 500 houses, alongside prisons and hospitals in DR Congo.
Over 500 houses are reported to have been damaged as a result of a 5.7 magnitude earth tremor that hit Kamituga town in South Kivu on Thursday, June 10, 2021.
“We have listed over 320 cracked houses and 25 that collapsed, wounding several persons,” said Mukambilwa Sidibo of the Mzenga territory civil society organisation.
“The situation is serious because all the services were affected. We as the civil society have recorded over 200 households without shelter.”
Kamituga was on Wednesday, June 9 and Thursday, June 10 twice hit by earth tremors, with the epicentre in Kamituga, explained Prof Prince Kaleme of the Lwiro Centre for Research in Natural Sciences.
“The latitude is three degrees 18 minutes south and 28 degrees 0.3 minutes east. The location of the epicenter is in Kamituga, that is what practically justifies the enormous damage caused in Kamituga. The magnitude is 5.7 degrees on the Richter scale,” revealed Kaleme.
Andre Kamundala, the interim mayor of Kamituga said 500 houses including hospitals were affected by the tremor.
“Actually, over 500 houses were cracked, the prison, the hospital and other edifices were also affected. Some patients decided to quit the hospital and return to their homes but up till now, we do not have the final scale of damage. We have sent our chiefs to the quarter to evaluate the damage,” Kamundala declared.
The South Kivu region has experienced more than 12 earth tremors within the last 30 days. They were felt in three stations notably that of Walungu, Idjwi, and Kabare.
Scientists have warned of possible earthquakes due to cracks in several territories in the South Kivu province.
The Kamituga tremors come on the heels of the Mount Nyiragongo eruption of Saturday, May 22, 2021 that caused extensive destruction in Goma and forced thousands of people to take refuge in nearby towns as well as in neighbouring Rwanda.
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