1966 Toro Earthquake
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The 1966 Toro earthquake, or the 1966 Ruwenzori earthquake, occurred on March 20 at 01:42 UTC (04:42 Uganda local time). The earthquake was located near the border between
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(DRC), to the south of Lake Albert. Some sources put the
epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...
in Uganda while some put it in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (''Severe'') on the
Mercalli intensity scale The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...
.


Tectonic setting

The earthquake occurred in the
Mt Rwenzori The Ruwenzori, also spelled Rwenzori and Rwenjura, are a range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, located on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highest peak of the Ruwenzori reaches , and the range' ...
region, which lies within the
Western Rift Valley The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...
of the East Africa Rift System, between
Lake Edward Lake Edward (locally Rwitanzigye or Rweru) is one of the smaller African Great Lakes. It is located in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, w ...
and Lake Albert. The Mt. Ruwenzori region is the most seismically active region in Uganda and also one of the most seismically active zones in the East Africa Rift System and is bounded by steep active normal faults."The seismicity and tectonics of Uganda" by N. Maasha The calculated
focal mechanism The focal mechanism of an earthquake describes the deformation in the source region that generates the seismic waves. In the case of a fault-related event it refers to the orientation of the fault plane that slipped and the slip vector and is ...
for the earthquake was normal faulting in type, although the focal mechanisms of three of the aftershocks were dominantly
strike-slip In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
in type.


Damage

Extensive damage was reported in both Uganda and the DRC. The earthquake caused 157 deaths: 104 in Uganda, one in
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
and 52 in the DRC. Buildings collapsed in both Uganda and the DRC. In
Bundibugyo Bundibugyo is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the 'chief town' of Bundibugyo District and the district headquarters are located there. Location Bundibugyo is located approximately , by road, west of Fort Portal, the nearest l ...
, the Court Hall was damaged. Cracks and fissures were observed on the ground. This earthquake could be felt in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
,
Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
, Tanzania, and
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
. Landslides triggered by the earthquake blocked roads, impeding relief efforts. According to press reports, a strong aftershock on May 18, 1966, caused 90 deaths in the DRC. This aftershock caused damage to buildings in both Uganda and the DRC.


Earthquake

The earthquake was associated with of surface faulting showing a downthrow of about to the southeast, consistent with one of the two possible fault planes from the focal mechanism. The earthquake was preceded by numerous foreshocks on March 18 and 19, 1966, and was followed by many aftershocks during the next two months, nine of them with a magnitude of 5.0 or greater. The energy release of the main shock was about 2×1017 Nm. The energy release associated with aftershocks after April 18 was also significant. The sum of energy release of the aftershocks up to 45 days after the main shock was also about 2×1017 Nm, i.e. roughly equal to that of the main shock.


See also

*
List of earthquakes in 1966 This is a list of earthquakes in 1966. Only magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes appear on the list. Lower magnitude events are included if they have caused death, injury or damage. Events which occurred in remote areas will be excluded from the ...
* List of earthquakes in DR. Congo *
Tooro Kingdom Tooro is a Bantu kingdom located within the borders of Uganda. The current Omukama of Toro is King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV took to the throne of Tooro kingdom in 1995 at the age of just thr ...
*
Toro sub-region Toro sub-region is a region in Uganda that is coterminous with Toro Kingdom in Western Uganda. The districts that constitute the sub-region include the following: * Bunyangabu District * Kabarole District * Kamwenge District * Kyegegwa Distr ...


References


External links

* {{Earthquakes in Africa Toro earthquake, 1966 Earthquakes in Rwanda Earthquakes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1966 in Uganda 1966 in Tanzania 1966 in Rwanda 1966 in Burundi 1966 in Kenya 1966 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1966 disasters in Africa