{Rwanda’s Ministry of Disaster Management (MIDIMAR) has announced that only minor injuries were reported after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and felt in Rwanda early on Friday local time.}
The Ministry on its Twitter Account said “{{5.6 Magnitude #earthquake hit #Rwanda this night, so far no serious damages reported, only minor injuries reported. We’re following up}}”
The magnitude 5.6 earthquake hit Rwanda at 3:25 am local time (0125 GMT), the United States Geological Survey reported.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located 35 km north of Cyangugu city in western Rwanda, occurring at a shallow depth of 10 km.
This is the second strong earthquake ever felt in Rwanda within a period of seven years.
An earthquake damaged up to 45 schools and health centers in western Rwanda’s districts of Nyamasheke and Rusizi in February 2008. 27,000 children were evacuated from schools, while 37 people died and 646 others were injured.
According to experts, earthquakes are common in the western Great Rift Valley due to the presence of a seismically active fault line which straddles western Uganda, eastern the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania.
{{(IGIHE, With Xinhua News Agency)}}
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