Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu/Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Chronicle Reporters
THIS past Tuesday, at 9.37PM the Morocco national football team was inching closer to equalising Malawi after a stunning Hellings Frank “Gabadinho” Mhango’s 30-metre right-footed strike 30 minutes before, at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.
Millions across Africa and the world were watching in glee as 22 footballers were sweating it out, with Malawi being resolute in defence. Just moments before the end of the first-half, between the two teams, Morocco scored their equalisers after a wave of attacks, through Youssef En-Nesyri.
Achraf Hakimi’s free-kick won the game and Morocco will face Egypt in the quarter-finals.
The goal by the Orlando Pirates striker, Mhango was a worldie, that has been touted as the goal of the tournament.
While all this was happening, in the southern part of Zimbabwe, there was a 3.9 magnitude earthquake that shook the area.
The quake hit Bulawayo and some parts of Matabeleland South on Tuesday night, causing panic and sending some people in Gwanda, Plumtree and Maphisa onto the streets to investigate.
According to the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) the earthquake was felt in Gwanda, Kezi, Plumtree, Matobo, some parts of Bulawayo and surrounding areas at 9.37PM.
“The determined earthquake parameters show that the earthquake occurred at Latitude -21.143S and Longitude 28.472E and the Magnitude was 3.9.
“The epicentre is in Matobo District about 20km from Maphisa, 40km from Gwanda town, about 25km from Kezi, about 100km from Bulawayo, 100km from Plumtree but it was widely felt in Matabeleland South Province and some parts of Bulawayo Metropolitan,” read the statement.
It said an earthquake with a magnitude of between 2.5 to 5.4 is felt, but causes minor damage.
The earthquake was the talk of the town by residents from Gwanda in Matabeleland South province.
Some were up watching the football match, while others were watching movies and series.
Some residents who spoke to Chronicle say they heard as if there was a low flying aeroplane while others said it sounded like a haulage truck passing underneath their feet.
Those who slept on the floor felt the tremors as they were about to drift into dreamland.
Ms Ashanti Chisale said her daughter was the one who felt the tremors as she was oblivious of the noise.
“I thought it was just a truck that was passing by our house or that it was the wind, because it was raining on that day.
My daughter said to me, she feels the earth moving and I thought she was playing, but it continued for about a minute.
It was a scary feeling,” said Ms Chisale.
Another resident, Ms Zanele Ndlovu said she was fast asleep.
“I was dead asleep and didn’t hear anything at all.
When I was getting into town, that’s when I heard that there was an earthquake,” said Ms Ndlovu.
Same as Mr Oscar Sibanda, said when he heard, he was frightened at the news.
“I also was asleep during the earthquake.
I didn’t hear or feel anything.
It was my neighbours who were speaking about it.
I was not that tired, but I slept at 9PM.
I was shocked that I didn’t hear anything.
The house could have fallen on me,” said Mr Sibanda.
On the outskirts of Gwanda, some 30km from the town, villagers such as Mr Albert Tshuma and his wife felt the tremor.
“It sounded like an aeroplane flying low and the sound rattled windows and shook the zinc roofing at our home.
I was wide awake.
We experienced it and we didn’t know what to do.
We thought the house would have fallen on us,” said Mr Tshuma.
He said luckily, he built the house using cement and bricks, but would have been wary if it was the traditional mud and pole.
“I shudder to think what would have happened if we were in a hut during this earthquake.
The rains have been pouring and they have weakened a number of these huts; an earthquake would have brought the structures down,” said Mr Tshuma.
Due to the intermittent mine blasting that happens in the mining area of Colleen Bawn, some said it sounded like a mine blast from a distance.
“We didn’t read too much into it because we’re used to hearing such loud noises here and there.
We thought there was probably some mine blasting.
The only catch was the time of day.
Mine blasting usually happens during the day, not at night,” said Ms Susan Nare.
She said it was only the next morning that she learnt the noise she had mistaken for a mine blast was actually an earth tremor.
“I received messages from quite a few people asking me about the earthquake the following day.
They were making a huge fuss about it but in hindsight, it was nothing alarming,” said Ms Nare.
For people like Mr Delisa Moyo, this freak of nature passed them by without them giving it much attention.
“The fact that people say it sounded like a passing noise would have made it difficult to discern what it was.
It could’ve been anything really.
I was awake during the time the earth tremor occurred but to be honest, I didn’t hear or feel anything out of the ordinary,” said Mr Moyo.
The biggest earthquake ever recorded in Zimbabwe was a 7.0 magnitude earthquake whose epicentre was near Chipinge on February 23, 2006.
More recently, another earthquake hit the coffee growing area of Chipinge, Chimanimani and surrounding areas at 6.53PM on April 24 last year.
The MSD said the earthquake occurred at Latitude -20.316 S and Longitude 33.086 E and the magnitude was determined to be 4.2.
The epicentre was in Mozambique although the earthquake was widely felt in Chipinge.
According to experts, earthquakes are the result of sudden movement along faults within the Earth.
The movement releases stored-up “elastic strain” energy in the form of seismic waves, which propagate through the Earth and cause the ground surface to shake.
“An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault.
The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction.
When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth’s crust and cause the shaking that we feel,” said the MSD. — @Yolisswa, @bonganinkunzi
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