An earthquake in Lake Victoria region of Tanzania on Thursday, November 5 caused an earth tremor in Nairobi and surrounding counties. The tremor caused by the earthquake was reported in Nairobi, Kiambu, Murang’a and Kajiado. An alert from Armistice Security Consult International (ASCI) says that the incident occurred at around 12:27pm East African Time and caused residents in the region to feel the ground shake.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) who are an independent body that monitor seismic activity and provide real time earthquake information initially reported a magnitude of 5.6 in the Lake Victoria region of Tanzania. However, this was updated to a magnitude of 5.1.
According to the updated information from EMSC, the earthquake occurred at around 12:22pm. It occurred at a depth of 10km and was centred around 21km east-northeast of Ushirombo, northwestern Tanzania. The earthquake occurred around 5 minutes prior to the tremor that was reported in Nairobi. This resulted in people feeling the ground shake.
The EMSC received reports from individuals who felt the earthquake. One of the factors that caused the earthquake to be felt is that it was not very deep. As of yet there are no confirmed injuries or significant damage to property in Kenya.
Kenya does experience occasional earthquakes and earth tremors due to being located within the East African Rift System. This is a very active area of the earth with the crust slowly pulling apart.
The rift system can be found throughout various countries in eastern Africa. Many of the tremors felt in Kenya are fairly mild. However, depending on the magnitude, depth and distance from populated areas, the effect of an earthquake can vary.
The incident on Thursday reminded people of the tremor that occurred in Nairobi and surrounding areas on May 7, 2025. This was caused by seismic activity close to Longido in Arusha region of Tanzania. This shows that earthquakes occurring outside of Kenya can still be felt in populated areas of the country. This is especially true as the earthquake occurred in the East African region.