Nairobi -- An earthquake struck the Lake Tanganyika area in central Africa on Monday, prompting workers to evacuate offices in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the tremor.

"I am out of the office because of the earth tremor which has just occurred for about 15-20 seconds," said Anne Okello, a shopkeeper in Nairobi's central business district.

The epicenter was near the eastern side of Lake Tanganyika, which forms the border between Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and struck at 1219 GMT in most of the affected countries.

The earthquake registered 6.8 on the Richter scale, according to the United States Geological Survey.