Tanzania quake kills at least 11; president says many dead

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — A 5.7-magnitude earthquake shook the Lake Victoria region of East Africa on Saturday, killing at least 11 people in Tanzania, a police official said. The country’s president said that many were dead.

The quake was felt as far away as western Kenya and parts of Uganda, which share the waters of Lake Victoria. Tremors were also felt in Kigali, Rwanda.

The 11 who died in Tanzania were in brick structures in the town of Bukoba, said Augustine Olomi, regional police commander for the Kagera region.

A statement from the Tanzanian president’s office said that he was “shocked by reports of the earthquake that caused the death of many people, injury to others and destruction of property.”

The statement didn’t provide specific figures on casualties.

Saturday’s quake was shallow, occurring at a depth of 10 kilometers (six miles). Shallow quakes generally tend to be more damaging than deeper quakes. Seismic waves from deep quakes have to travel farther to the surface, losing energy along the way, while the shaking from shallow quakes is more intense.

Recent earthquakes in the area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides. The last notable quake in the region was in 2004 and measured 4.7.