Earth tremor shakes Zambia
2005-12-06 09:02
Lusaka - A midday earth tremor on Monday swept through northern Zambia and violently shook several buildings but no damage or injuries were reported, said an official.
The United States embassy in Lusaka warned of the possibility of a tsunami on Lake Taganyika, citing information from the Pacific Tsunami warning centre.
The US embassy said: "It is possible that this seismic activity triggered or will trigger a tsunami."
A local government spokesperson Roy Kuseka said the tremor caused panic.
Kuseka said: "It was not very serious though it shook high rise buildings and people screamed for help", adding that it was felt for about 10 minutes.
He said Ndola, a mining town situated about 400km north of Lusaka, was the most affected though reports from areas near lake Tanganyika had not yet being received.
Kuseka said there were no reports of damages or injuries.
The earthquake that registered 7.5 on the Richter scale shook east and central Africa, killing at least one person and injuring several others in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, near the epicentre on the border with Tanzania.