Tremor rattles villages across Ghana

February 16, 2011 – GHANA – Residents of some communities in Accra at dawn on Wednesday experienced what eyewitnesses described as an earth tremor. The incident, which occurred around 0400 hours affected communities like Taifa, Dome, Tantra Hills, Achimota, Kwabenya, Ashongman and East Legon, from where residents called a local radio station for confirmation. Official sources, however, could not confirm the incident to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) as the nation did not have the equipment to measure incidence of earthquakes or tremors. It said the Geological Survey Department charged with detecting and measuring the level of earthquakes and tremors nationwide on a Richter scale was currently ineffective because it lacked the equipment to perform its mandate. The source said the Department was yet to install a new equipment to replace an obsolete one and until the installation at a new location at Achimota was completed, little could be done about the situation. –Ghana News Agency