August 7, 2015 Earthquake: Bukavu, Rwanda
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Bukavu, Rwanda on August 7, 2015 at 01:25:02 UTC, 11 km below the surface. It killed 3 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
- August 7, 2015
- Time
- 01:25:02 UTC
- Place
- Bukavu, Rwanda
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 11 km (7 mi)
- Intensity
- 5 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 2.141° S, 28.897° E
- Country
- Rwanda
The toll
- Deaths
- 3
- Injuries
- 30
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.
At least 2 people killed at Katana. Felt (III) at Goma. Also felt at Bukavu. Felt (IV) at Cyangugu and (III) at Kigali, Rwanda. Also felt at Butare, Gisenyi, Kibuye and Ruhengeri. Felt at Bujumbura, Burundi and Kisoro, Uganda. Kibuye, Kibuye, Rwanda - CDI: 5; Cyangugu, Cyangugu, Rwanda - CDI: 4; Butare, Butare, Rwanda - CDI: 4; Gisenyi, Gisenyi, Rwanda - CDI: 4; Kisoro, Western, Uganda - CDI: 3 (reference #13456)
At least three people were killed and many others injured as an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale shook eastern parts of Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Rwanda on Friday. The quake hit Congo's Bukavu region, located near Rwanda border, around 3.25 am (local time), said the US Geological Survey, which had initially reported its magnitude at 5.8. "There were three deaths - two children in a house in Bukavu. There was also a police officer near the airport," government spokesman Lambert Mende told Reuters. The two children were killed after their house collapsed in Katana near the airport in Bukavu. The epicentre of the earthquake was located near Lake Tanganyika and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province in DR Congo, the Associated Press reported. Sources in Bukavu said the death toll might go up. A local report said at least 30 people were injured. (reference #11236)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 17, 2002, Gisenyi, Rwanda
- February 3, 2008, Bukavu, Congo
- May 25, 2021, Rubavu, Congo, Rwanda
- September 22, 1960, Lake Tanganyika, Congo
- September 23, 2016, Ukavu, Risuzi, Congo, 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 2015The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2015Recent 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 10148.