Truth Behind Photos of Tremors and Earthquake Experienced in Makueni

Panick gripped some Kenyans after images of alleged tremors and an earthquake in Makueni County surfaced on social media.

According to the reports, at about 20 minutes past midnight on June 22, an earthquake with a depth of 8 km struck the Mtito Andei area. 

Additionally, the reports noted that the effects of the earthquake were felt by some residents of Nairobi County. 

“0020 hours, June 22: 4.4 magnitude earthquake struck near Mtito Andei, Makueni, Kenya, with a depth of 8 km. It was felt by some residents in Nairobi. Previous earth tremors have quietly cracked roads in the Rift Valley,” X user Stephen Mutoro stated.

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Truth Behind the Earthquake

However, an in-depth reverse search done by The Kenya Times has determined that the photo being circulated online was from a crack stretching several kilometers that opened up in the Rift Valley in March 2018.

According to a BBC report on the crack then, the gap opened up around Southwestern Suswa area, damaging part of the Nairobi- Narok Highway.

As a result of the incident, local families were evacuated. According to geologists, the crack was caused by heavy seismic activity that caused the earth to split as the Rift Valley runs along a geological fault line.

Although some geologists at the time believed that the crack would continue and cause the earth to split, they said that it would take hundreds of years.

The East African Rift Valley stretches over 3,000km from the Gulf of Aden in the north towards Zimbabwe in the south, splitting the African plate into two unequal parts: the Somali and Nubian plates.

In addition, the East African Rift is unique in that it allows geologists to observe different stages of rifting along its length. 

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Recent Reports of Earth Tremors

Reports of an earth tremor on Friday came days after yet another report on June 17 when tremors were reported in several counties across the country including in Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Mombasa, Nyeri and Makueni counties.

According to the Meteorological Department of Kenya, the tremors were recorded across the world in countries like Spain, Moluccas, Indonesia.

However, the department said that no major effects were caused urging residents in the coastal region to stay away from beaches. 

Earthquakes vary in intensity, ranging from imperceptible tremors to violent forces capable of hurling objects and people into the air, causing severe damage to essential infrastructure, and devastating entire cities.

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