Scientists should probe Baringo earth tremors

Still reeling from the effects of massive flooding that submerged homes and displaced hundreds of people, Baringo residents are facing yet another challenge.

Over the past two weeks, those who live around the swollen Lake Baringo have been experiencing sporadic tremors. They are worried that the tremors could be a precursor to an earthquake, and they have every reason to think so.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that county residents are complaining of earth tremors. In March, residents of Marigat reported experiencing earth tremors on several occasions. The tremors even caused cracks on a two-storey building in the town.

There is a possibility that the tremors now shaking the shores of Baringo might fizzle out, just as it happened in Marigat. Nairobi also experienced a series of earth tremors in July 2007 that eventually died out.

But be that as it may, it would be wrong to sit back and assume the Baringo tremors will take a similar course. While we are optimistic, we cannot rule out the possibility that residents may be sitting on a ticking time bomb.

For that reason, the government should urgently dispatch seismologists to Baringo. They need to establish whether the tremors are a warning of bigger trouble ahead or just a passing cloud. Whatever their findings are, they will be important.

If they find trouble simmering underground, people will have to be relocated fast. If they find no signs of trouble, this will help deflate the anxiety that has been building up in the area over the past weeks.