Earth tremors felt across Nairobi, with residents of Nairobi and neighbouring counties this evening, July 16th reported feeling shaking and vibration on social media.
According to an unconfirmed report from Volcano discovery, there was a possible earthquake that might have occurred near Moshi, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, on the evening of Tuesday, Jul 16, 2024, at around 8.35 pm local time (GMT +3).
Similar tremors were earlier felt in June, with several residents of Nairobi also reporting feeling the tremors. Kenya has field seismic stations in Kilimambogo, Magadi, Kibwezi, Lodwar, Nairobi, and five others spread across the country.
What causes Tremors?
Tremors inside the earth can be caused by a volcano eruption, a meteor hitting the earth, an underground nuclear explosion or the movement of tectonic plates. However, most of the earthquakes are caused by the movement of tectonic plates.
When the Earth trembles, earthquakes spread energy through seismic waves. A seismograph is the primary earthquake-measuring instrument. The seismograph produces a digital graphic recording of the ground motion caused by the seismic waves. The digital recording is called a seismogram.
There are several ways to measure the magnitude of an earthquake. Most scales are based on the amplitude of seismic waves recorded on seismometers. These scales account for the distance between the earthquake and the recording seismometer so the calculated magnitude should be about the same no matter where it is measured. Another scale is based on the physical size of the earthquake fault and the amount of slip that occurred. Then there are also measures of earthquake shaking intensity. The intensity of one earthquake varies greatly from place to place.
