Office workers in Nairobi stopped what they were doing just before lunchtime on Thursday, 5 November, when the ground moved under them. The shaking was real: it came from an earthquake almost 1,000 kilometres away in north-western Tanzania.

Residents in Nairobi, Kiambu, Murang'a and Kajiado reported a brief tremor at about 12:27pm. Many then went online to ask whether anyone else had felt it. Some said they had not been sure at first that the ground had moved at all.

What the seismic agencies recorded

The US Geological Survey (USGS) logged a magnitude 5.1 earthquake at 12:22pm East African Time, about 19 kilometres north-north-west of Masumbwe in Tanzania, south of Lake Victoria. It was shallow, at a depth of about 10 kilometres. Shallow quakes tend to be felt over a wider area.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) first put the quake at magnitude 5.6, then revised it to 5.2. It placed the epicentre east of Ushirombo, roughly 986 kilometres from Nairobi, Kenyans.co.ke reported. Preliminary figures often change in the first hours after a quake as more stations report in.

Residents also reported the tremor in:

  • Tassia and Pipeline in Embakasi, Nairobi
  • Westgate in Westlands
  • Kitengela and Athi River
  • Kisii

Preliminary alerts also listed light shaking in Kigali, Bujumbura and Kampala.

No damage reported

By Thursday afternoon there were no reports of injuries or damaged buildings in Kenya. Shaking from a magnitude 5 quake this far away is usually felt as a short sway, most noticeably by people in tall buildings. It rarely causes damage.

The Kenya Meteorological Department had not issued a statement by the time of publication.

Not the first time

Nairobi has felt tremors from Tanzanian earthquakes before. On 7 May 2025, residents of Westlands, Parklands, Kangemi and Mlolongo felt the ground move between 10:30am and 10:40am. Kenya Met traced that tremor to a magnitude 4.5 earthquake near Longido in northern Tanzania. Parts of Mombasa and Kilifi also reported unusual ground movement in April 2025.

Kenya and Tanzania sit along the East African Rift System, where the African plate is slowly pulling apart. Earthquakes in the region are common. Most are small, but some can be felt hundreds of kilometres from where they start.

Experts advise anyone who feels a tremor to move away from windows, shelves and other things that could fall. If you are in a tall building, take cover under a sturdy table rather than rushing for the stairs.

Photos: Kenyans.co.ke / Nairobi City Marathon (Nairobi aerial view); Kenyans.co.ke / La Vie Zine (Thika town, Kiambu). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.