Quick
Search: 		  
advanced search
 GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help 
Seismological Research Letters Signup for GSW Email News
JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Seismological Research Letters; July/August 2006; v. 77; no. 4; p. 426-439; DOI: 10.1785/gssrl.77.4.426
© 2006 Seismological Society of America
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Fenton, C. H.
Right arrow Articles by Bommer, J. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation

The Mw7 Machaze, Mozambique, Earthquake of 23 February 2006

Clark H. Fenton and Julian J. Bommer
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.


   INTRODUCTION
 
A major (Mw 7.0) earthquake occurred on 22 February 2006 at 22:19 UTC (shortly after midnight the following day in local time) in the western province of Manica in Mozambique, Southern Africa. The epicenter was located in Machaze, the southernmost district of Manica province, about 45 km due south of the district capital of Chitobe (figure 1).

The earthquake was felt throughout eastern Southern Africa but caused surprisingly little damage and a very small number of casualties.


Figure Removed (Available Only in the Full Text)
View larger version (18K):



  		Figure 1. Location map of the epicentral region, showing settlements and observed surface rupture features, the main shock locations, and the aftershocks for a period of one month, as determined by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC).

 
Mozambique is not generally considered a country with significant seismic hazard, but its population is affected by many other serious threats, both natural and anthropogenic: life expectancy is close to 40 years. Despite improved economic growth following liberalization in 1994, Mozambique remains a poor country with a GDP per capita of just US $1,300. The country has appreciable mineral resources but the principal economic activity is agriculture, with seafood (shrimp and lobster) being the major export. The only major industrial activity is a large aluminum smelting plant, with other activities related mainly to food processing. As much as 80% of the population lives on subsistence farming or fishing.

Mozambique is still suffering from the effects of a brutal civil war that began two years after the country achieved independence from Portugal in 1975 and continued until 1992, leaving at least 100,000 dead and one-third of the population displaced or forced into exile. In common with so many African countries, Mozambique is heavily affected by HIV/AIDS, with at least 12% of the population infected; we were informed that in Machaze district the infection . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
Imperial College London
South Kensington Campus
London SW7 2AZ, U.K.
c.fenton@imperial.ac.uk
j.bommer@imperial.ac.uk
(C.F., J.B.)




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Seismological Research LettersHome page
M. Singh, A. Kijko, and R. Durrheim
Seismotectonic Models for South Africa: Synthesis of Geoscientific Information, Problems, and the Way Forward
Seismological Research Letters, January 1, 2009; 80(1): 71 - 80.
[Full Text] [PDF]


JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by Seismological Society of America