February 22, 2006 Earthquake: Mozambique

One person killed at Espungabera, one killed at Machaze and 2 killed at Beira. Thirty-six people injured and at least 294 buildings damaged in the Espungabera- Beira-Chimoio area. Power outages occurred at Maputo. Felt (V) at Beira, Inhambane and Maputo; (IV) at Matola. Felt (IV) at Harare and Mutare, Zimbabwe. Also felt (IV) at Louis Trichardt and Phalaborwa; (III) at Durban and Middelburg; (II) at Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa. Felt throughout Mozambique and eastern Zimbabwe. Felt in Swaziland and at Lobatse, Botswana and Lusaka, Zambia. (above from reference #1053)

A major earthquake of magnitude M7.0 occurred on 22 February 2006 in the western province of Manica in Mozambique, near the southern end of the EARS. The epicentre was located in Machaze, the southernmost district of Manica province, about 45 km due south of the district capital of Chitobe. The earthquake was felt in Beira, Inhambane, and Maputo with intensity V, and in Matola with intensity IV. It was also felt in Harare (intensity IV) and Mutare in Zimbabwe as well as at Louis Trichardt and Phalaborwa (intensity IV), in Durban and Middelburg (intensity III), and in Johannesburg and Pretoria (intensity II) in South Africa. Although the earthquake was felt throughout southern Africa, it caused surprisingly little damage and a small number of casualties. One person was killed at Espungabera, another at Machaze, and two people in Beira. Twenty-seven people were injured and at least 160 buildings were damaged in the Espungabera, Beira, and Chimoio area. Surface rupture was mapped along the north-northwest-striking Machaze fault (Fig. 15.7) and liquefaction was observed throughout the epicentral region. The damage observed was much less than would be expected for such a large earthquake, because the epicentral area was sparsely populated with most people living in wattle-and-daub huts built using closely spaced timber verticals and a rather thick weave of material (Fenton and Bommer, 2006), which fared well during the earthquake. (reference #13028)