M5.9 earthquake 20 km N of Cyangugu, Rwanda
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 20 km N of Cyangugu, Rwanda on Sun, Feb 3, 2008, 9:34 AM GMT+2 (07:34 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (mwb), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 2008-02-03 07:34:12 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 2.296° S, 28.900° E
- Region
- Rwanda
- Felt reports
- 26
- Strongest shaking
- VIII, severe shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VIII, severe shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 38.8% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 3.5 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
26 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was IV, light shaking.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Normal
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 179°, dip 35°, rake -96°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 6°, dip 55°, rake -86°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 20°
- Stations used
- 415
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 11 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.011 km NE of Cyangugu, Rwanda · 6806 days ago · 10 km deep · 14 km away · felt by 5
- 4.922 km NNE of Cyangugu, Rwanda · 6806 days ago · 10 km deep · 9 km away
- 4.88 km ESE of Cyangugu, Rwanda · 6806 days ago · 10 km deep · 25 km away · felt by 4
- 4.128 km WNW of Cibitoke, Burundi · 6806 days ago · 10 km deep · 57 km away
- 4.66 km NNW of Cyangugu, Rwanda · 6806 days ago · 10 km deep · 15 km away
- 4.74 km SSW of Cyangugu, Rwanda · 6804 days ago · 10 km deep · 26 km away
- 3.812 km ENE of Cyangugu, Rwanda · 6804 days ago · 10 km deep · 19 km away
- 3.73 km ENE of Cyangugu, Rwanda · 6798 days ago · 10 km deep · 20 km away
- 5.38 km N of Cyangugu, Rwanda · 6796 days ago · 10 km deep · 12 km away · felt by 12
- 4.77 km NNW of Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo · 6795 days ago · 10 km deep · 17 km away
- 4.612 km NNE of Cyangugu, Rwanda · 6783 days ago · 10 km deep · 13 km away
Earthquakes todayRwanda earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000fy21 (also filed as us2008mzam, choy20080203073412, gcmtc200802030734a, gcmt20080203073412, iscgem13213409, atlas20080203073412). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 5:24 PM UTC.