February 3, 2008 Earthquake: Bukavu, Congo
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Bukavu, Congo on February 3, 2008 at 07:34:12 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 47 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- February 3, 2008
- Time
- 07:34:12 UTC
- Place
- Bukavu, Congo
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 2.296° S, 28.900° E
- Country
- Congo
The toll
- Deaths
- 47
- Injuries
- 643
- Damage
- $7 million
- Houses destroyed
- 99
- Houses damaged
- 815
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Five people killed and 200 injured, 99 buildings collapsed and 815 seriously damaged at Bukavu. Power outages occurred in about 50 percent of the city. Thirty-three people killed and 517 injured in the Cyangugu-Nyamasheke area, Rwanda. Felt (IV) at Butare and Kigali. Also felt at Bujumbura and Kirundo, Burundi; Kabanga and Rulenge, Tanzania; and Kabale, Uganda. (reference #1053)
Rwanda: 36 deaths, 643 injured; Congo: 11 deaths, USD 7 million total damages (reference #1250)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 17, 2002, Gisenyi, Rwanda
- May 25, 2021, Rubavu, Congo, Rwanda
- September 22, 1960, Lake Tanganyika, Congo
- September 23, 2016, Ukavu, Risuzi, Congo, Rwanda
- August 7, 2015, Bukavu, Rwanda
- February 24, 2004, Ruyaga, Burundi
- October 24, 2002, Mugera, Kigali, Goma, Lwiro, Bukavu, Rwanda, Congo
- June 10, 2021, South Kivu, Congo
- February 14, 2008, Gisenyi, Rwanda
More
Significant earthquakes of 2008The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2008Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 7764.