The 2005 Lake Tanganyika earthquake occurred at 14:19:56 local time on 5 December with a moment magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme).

The shock occurred along the East African Rift, an active continental rift zone in East Africa that is characterized by normal faulting, and initiated at a depth of 22 kilometers (14 mi).

Early reports indicated that the heaviest damage was sustained by the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a region already ravaged by extensive war and extreme poverty.

[4] A UN spokesman said that most of the casualties were caused by falling zinc or steel roofs.

The quake was centred roughly below Lake Tanganyika and – in addition to the DRC, where the most widespread damage has been reported – it was felt in Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, and as far away as Mombasa, Kenya, and Luanda, Angola.