Rwanda's Earthquakes and Mitigations

 Rwanda, being far from tectonic lines and ground movement, does not get a lot of earthquake action in its country. On average, Rwanda gets 12 earthquakes annually, with the strongest recorded at 5.9 magnitude (strongest in the last 10 years). In 2021, Rwanda had an outlier year with 34 earthquakes recorded that year. Rwanda’s most recent earthquake was recorded on Jan 19th, at a 4.5 magnitude. Although usually mind, Rwanda’s trend of earthquakes is rising in intensity and frequency which is why the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA) has a vision to, “ build a disaster resilient nation and ensure effective management of refugee affairs.”



In Rwanda, the Ministry in Charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA) outlines a very clear order of direction for the country if a disastrous earthquake occurs. In this document they highlight all of the protocols for pre-earthquake preparation, protocols for during an earthquake, aftershocks, and how to respond after. They have also created a plan for first aid, fire rescue, civil engineering and much more in order to assist communities in Rwanda faced with hardship from disasters. 


https://www.ecgs.lu/seismic-networks/

https://earthquakelist.org/rwanda/#major-latest-earthquakes

https://www.minema.gov.rw/about 

https://www.minema.gov.rw/fileadmin/user_upload/Minema/Publications/Contingency_Plans/Contingency_Plan_for_Earthquake_2019.pdf

Comments

  1. Kiara NavarreteFebruary 11, 2024 at 11:04 PM

    Hi Morgan! I think both our countries have lower magnitudes which is something I find interesting as I want to see how the future can affect the magnitude of earthquakes. You mentioned that Rwanda went through an outlier year recently with a lot more recorded earthquakes, I wonder if this outlier year will eventually become more and more common. It seems Rwanda has a good action plan set in case of this happening and I like how you attached the contingency plan as well! Very informative post!

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