BLANTYRE--A mild earth tremor measuring 2.6 on the Richter Scale hit Malawi's eastern district of Zomba Thursday causing anxiety among people as geologists quickly called for calm.
 
"It was a minor one, there is no need to worry, as you can see it was quite small at 2.6 on the Richter Scale," geologist Dr. Leonard Kalindekafe told maravipost.com in a telephone interview.
 
Kalindekafe said geologists were investigating what caused the tremor but he said the likely cause would be rock movement along the fault lines in Chingale. He said he wasn’t sure whether this was a harbinger for further tremors or even for a bigger earthquake.
 
"That area has no history of earthquakes, we don't have much historical pattern to go with," he said.
 
The geologist nonetheless said there were no reports of damages to structures or casualties.
 
Reports, however, talk of panic when buildings shook.
 
"I didn't know what was happening, I had to abandon my hawker stall," said businessman Lameck Thauseni from Chingale Trading Centre.
 
Pupils also temporarily abandoned classes fearing the worst.
 
In December 2009 two earthquakes measuring 5.2 and 6 respectively on the Richter Scale hit Malawi's northern border district of Karonga, killing four people, injuring and displacing several others.
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©2012 The Maravi Post. Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment