The quake shook buildings in the south of Mozambique, in the capital, Maputo, reportedly causing many to flee into the streets. The epicentre was "located 10 kilometres below the surface in Espungabera, in the district of Mossurize, in Mozambique's western Manica province", according to Southern Africa News Features.

The towns of Chipinge and Chimanimani in Zimbabwe were also close to to the epicentre, which was near the Save River; though tremors were violent, relatively little damage reportedly occurred. The quake is the worst seen in southern Africa for decades, and its effects extended from northern Mozambique and the port city of Beira, about 225 km from the epicentre, across eastern Zimbabwe and down to South Africa.

Earthquakes and earthquake-related deaths are relatively rare in this part of southern Africa. In the last 25 years, notable tremors have been recorded in only a few countries, with Malawi's suffering two deaths in the worst earthquake fatality instance.

The Great Rift Valley is given to extensive seismological activity, but the region's most active period was 1950 to 57, when 10 quakes exceeding 6.0 on the Richter scale occurred in the Rift Valley, 4 in the Mozambique Channel. Mozambique has enjoyed relative safety from severe earthquakes, though flooding has been a recurring natural danger.

The Mozambique quake, referred to by some as "the Save quake" for the river nearest its epicentre, was unforeseen by experts and has been described as a "once in a century event". Zimbabwe's largest quake occurred in 1963 and was likely induced by the filling of a massive reservoir behind a dam in the Kariba area.

According to the Herald, of Harare: "Tanzania recorded a 7 Richter quake in September 1992 near the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika and the DRC was hit by a 7,2 Richter quake in December last year in the Lualaba Valley."

The Chicago Tribune, which reports the Save quake as Mozambique's first in over a century, reports that a strange twist of Portugal's colonial legacy in Mozambique may have limited damage to the nation.

In 1755, a massive quake killed between 60,000 and 90,000 people in Portugal, leading to stricter standards for building with tremor-resistance in mind. That led to Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony, having some of the most stringent building codes in southern Africa, meaning that many structures in this poor and earthquake-inexperienced nation were able to withstand the tremors.

Because last week's quake reached into multiple countries, it is thought the event will spur local governments to organize a multinational response system to provide disaster relief for future natural emergencies. [s]

• SANF: "Earthquake Tests Regional Disaster Preparedness"
• Herald: "Major Quake Shakes SA, Mozambique, Zimbabwe"
• Chicago Tribune credits Portuguese colonial building codes with limiting damage in earthquake inexperienced Mozambique