Earthquake rumour sends shock waves

A rumour that an earthquake was going to hit Malawi Thursday night sent shock waves among Malawians forcing some to sleep outside their houses as a safety measure.
But Department of Geological Survey deputy director Jelf Salima said in an interview yesterday the department did not know where the rumour originated from.
Salima said an earthquake cannot be predicted.
“Even in countries such as Japan and India where earthquakes hit hard, they cannot predict that an earthquake will hit; it is simply not possible. So, that was a total lie.”
Amid the downpour that has caused floods in the country, destroyed houses and cost lives, the rumour widely spread on social media platforms especially Facebook detailing that the earthquake would hit at 9pm on Thursday.
Power cuts in most parts of the country, worsened the rumour as many Malawians could not tune to the radio or TV to get correct information. Instead, calls were made to relatives and friends alerting them of the impending danger with instructions to stay out of the house.
Random interviews conducted by Weekend Nation indicate that some people across the nation slept outside their houses as they could not take chances.
“I spent four hours with my family outside my house. The rumour just grew too big and I could not take chances. Friends and relatives kept calling me, some trying to confirm with me if the rumour could be true,” said a Bangwe resident.
Writing on his Facebook wall, Stanly Mateyu, a Karonga resident, said he heard about the rumour after relatives called him. He said knowing that Karonga has been hit by an earth tremor on December 31 2014, people were scared.
Daniel Senzani, a Lilongwe resident, said he treated the rumour as cheap talk on the social media.