An earth tremor was felt strongly in the southern parts of Malawi on Thursday. Residents of areas in Chilomoni, Limbe and even Balaka reported a strong tremor just before 11am (C.A.T).
The tremor originated from an earthquake which occurred 27km from Nsanje at 10:49 am. The quake measured in at a 5.6 magnitude. The last recorded quake occurred about a year ago in the same area which measured in at a magnitude of 5.2 with a 10km depth.
Malawi sits along the East African Rift, the divergent plate boundary which extends from the Afar Triple Junction southward across eastern Africa, and is in the process of splitting the African Plate into two new separate plates. Geologists generally refer to these incipient plates as the Nubian Plate and the Somali Plate.