The death toll in the powerful quake that hit Mozambique on Thursday morning was still uncertain by Thursday afternoon, with authorities still visiting rural areas to assess the impact there.
”The provincial secretary is there to assess and we are expecting news in about two hours,” Mozambique Red Cross Society secretary general Fernanda Teixeira said.
”There was alarm, especially in the big cities where people slept in the street. There was damage to buildings in terms of broken glass and about 15 people were injured as they attempted to leave a building.
”The only district that we are concerned about and trying to find out more is Espungabera in Manica. There are probably some people injured and some traditional houses destroyed,” Teixeira said.
Two deaths have been reported so far.
The quake could be felt as far afield as Harare and Durban, with The Star reporting that Johannesburg’s emergency services had also received quake-related calls.
South Africa’s Department of Foreign Affairs said initial reports indicated that no South Africans were harmed by the earthquake.
”We have made contact with our embassy there and no South Africans are affected, as far as we are aware,” spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.
The South African Council for Geosciences (SACG) said the quake registered 7,3 on the Richter scale in the Massangena area, according to local initial measurements. United States Geological Survey estimates put it higher, at 7,5.
”A woman from Prestige Park in Pretoria phoned in to report that she had been woken up and the time that she gave was spot on, 12.20am,” said Ian Saunders, of the SACG.
He explained that the quake was not unusual for the region, situated on the East African rift system. At least three aftershocks have already been recorded.
”The Earth’s crust is in constant flux and new crust is being created,” he explained. ”The East African rift has been moving apart over millions of years. Fault lines forms the rift, and as it moves apart, you have stress relief and this forms the quake. It’s a bit like pulling on two pieces of paper — eventually it has to split somewhere.”
He said: ”We have picked up quakes in that area before, but this is a serious one.”
Mozambican Gilbert Cochelane, who was staying at the Tivoli hotel in Beira, said just after 4am that a second earthquake, presumably an aftershock, hit the area at about 3am.
”Everything started shaking again about 3am,” Cochelane said. ”No one is sleeping. The electricity is out, everything is in darkness, we are very scared.”
Another guest said: ”It felt like being in a boat on heavy seas. Everything went wobbly. I looked at the air conditioner in my room and it was slightly skew. The floor also. But nothing fell.”
Mozambican authorities are still assessing injuries and damage, and have urged people not to go back into their buildings for fear of further aftershocks, news agencies on the scene reported. — Sapa