WESTERN PRONVINCE - The earthquake that was felt in Kigali in the wee hours of Thursday morning killed one person in the Western Province.

The victim, an old woman, died from her house in Nyabitekeri Sector in Nyamasheke District.

But some unconfirmed reports said at least five people had been killed.

Nyamasheke and Rusizi districts were the most hit by a powerful magnitude 5 quake that struck on February 3, killing nearly 40 people and injuring hundreds.

"Reports I have so far say that the old lady died when her house crushed on her. Others are minor injuries in the sectors of Nkanka, Nkombo and Gihundwe,” Elan Karara, the in-charge of disaster management in the Office of the Prime Minister, said yesterday.

He said that other cases reported were two prisoners who were injured at Rusizi Prison.
"Generally, the damage was minimal but we are still carrying out an evaluation of the total property destroyed,” he added.

He said that there are also 16 cases of traumatized of students in Rusizi.

In the aftermath of the previous earthquake, 55 cases of trauma were reported in the same region.

The Mayor of Rusizi District, Jean Pierre Turatsinze, said the houses that were destroyed had been left in bad shape by the February 3 quake.

"This (Thursday’s quake) was not as strong as the previous one apart from the few houses that have been destroyed and some three people injured in Nkanka, Gihundwe and Nkombo sectors,” Turatsinze said.

The three sectors were also the most affected by the quake that struck on February 3, especially Nkanka, where a church collapsed and instantly killed 12 people of its congregation.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Bernard Makuza valued the property lost in that quake at Frw5b. He said that the government is working around the clock to ensure that the affected people get immediate relief.

The strong earthquake had its epicenter in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where 200 people reportedly died.
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