Tremor strikes
A TREMOR yesterday rocked Kampala City, causing panic among residents in high rise buildings,
A TREMOR yesterday rocked Kampala City, causing panic among residents in high rise buildings, reports Gerald Tenywa.
The tremor, which lasted about a minute, occurred at 5:16pm as people were leaving work for home. “It was not too strong but neither was it weak,†Joshua Tuhumwire, the commissioner for geological survey said. Tuhumwire estimated the tremor measured between 3.5 and 4.5 on the Richter scale.
“In six months, we will have the capacity to provide accurate data soon after occurences of tremors and earthquakes.â€
Monitors said many tremors have struck since the beginning of the year but most of them went unnoticed.
“I was up on the third floor of Uganda House and saw the windows shaking,†said Peter Okello, a resident of Ntinda. “Some people attempted to run out, but by the time we got down, the building had stopped shaking.â€
Okello said some of the workers decided to go home, fearing that more tremors could follow. In Jinja, a source at Mpumudde said parts of the municipality experienced vibrations .
Most parts of the country were not hit by the tremor. Fort Portal and Kasese, which are prone to earthquakes because of the Rift Valley and the volcanic activity, did not report the incident.
In Buganda, there is a popular belief that the shaking of the earth is caused by a spirit, known as “Musisiâ€. Children born when tremors or earthquakes strike are named Musisi, for boys, and Namusisi, for girls.
A tremor is the shaking of the earth’s surface as a result of underground movement of rocks or volcanic activity.
The tremor, which lasted about a minute, occurred at 5:16pm as people were leaving work for home. “It was not too strong but neither was it weak,†Joshua Tuhumwire, the commissioner for geological survey said. Tuhumwire estimated the tremor measured between 3.5 and 4.5 on the Richter scale.
“In six months, we will have the capacity to provide accurate data soon after occurences of tremors and earthquakes.â€
Monitors said many tremors have struck since the beginning of the year but most of them went unnoticed.
“I was up on the third floor of Uganda House and saw the windows shaking,†said Peter Okello, a resident of Ntinda. “Some people attempted to run out, but by the time we got down, the building had stopped shaking.â€
Okello said some of the workers decided to go home, fearing that more tremors could follow. In Jinja, a source at Mpumudde said parts of the municipality experienced vibrations .
Most parts of the country were not hit by the tremor. Fort Portal and Kasese, which are prone to earthquakes because of the Rift Valley and the volcanic activity, did not report the incident.
In Buganda, there is a popular belief that the shaking of the earth is caused by a spirit, known as “Musisiâ€. Children born when tremors or earthquakes strike are named Musisi, for boys, and Namusisi, for girls.
A tremor is the shaking of the earth’s surface as a result of underground movement of rocks or volcanic activity.