Magnitude 5.9 quake brings down houses in Karonga
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said a magnitude 5.9 quake, only 6.2 miles deep, struck Malawi's northern Karonga District following a series of quakes in the same area, Reuters reports.
Karonga District Assembly chief executive officer Gasten Macheka said: "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.
"Houses are continuing to fall in the villages and people are continuing to sleep outside their homes.”
Tremors common
The epicenter was 110 miles north of Mzuzu, Malawi's third largest city, and 75 miles southeast of the Tanzanian town of Mbeya.
Director of the Malawi Geological Survey Leonard Kalindekafe said the epicenter 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.
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