Earthquake In South Africa

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I felt it here at home in Craighall Park, Jhb. Lasted a bit over 30 seconds but it was quite strong. Windows rattling, crockery rattling, stuff fell off my desk. But the rumbling noise that accompanied it was pretty scary. I didn't know what it was and thought it was a truck or such outside the house - then everything starting shaking. Was not a pleasant experience. Reports of tremors felt as far as Mozambique and Botswana!
 
Now were having earthquake what is going on, I know we used to have a few tremors when I lived up that side but they were easily missed most of the time.

Source - http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2014/08/05/5.3-earthquake-shakes-south-africa-one-dead

5.3 earthquake shakes South Africa, one dead
Sapa | 05 August, 2014 14:49
Orkney.PNG


Image by: Google Maps
One person has been reported dead in a 5.3 magnitude earthquake which struck six kilometres east of Orkney in the North West on Tuesday.
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"A 31-year-old man was found deceased in an old mining village in Orkney, in the North West," said ER24 spokeswoman Luyanda Majija.

"He was found lying under some debris."

Emergency workers were at the mining village, searching for mineworkers presumed to be trapped in 11 shafts. Majija could not immediately confirm the name of the mine.

The tremors were felt in various parts of the country, shaking buildings, rattling windows and resulting in building evacuations.

The US Geological Survey said on its website "Earthquake report.com" the quake was felt as far off as Botswana.

"This earthquake is severely dangerous because the epicentre is located right below Orkney and Klerksdorp," it said.

It reported that severe shaking was felt in Klerksdorp and there was an unconfirmed report of a building that had collapsed, where people were trapped.

Another report on the website said a school building in Klerksdorp shook so badly that pupils were thrown off balance.

"Our school has three storeys and I was in the middle when it shook. We dove for the door along with our geography teacher and we were told to evacuate the building," said a pupil on the website.

"We are on the football field, damage [was] done to multiple classrooms."

Another person on the website reported that two children were injured at an Orkney mine, and that buildings were damaged.

The Council for Geosciences could not immediately be reached for comment.

The quake struck after midday on Tuesday, shaking buildings and rattling pictures in offices, including Sapa's headquarters in Greenside, Johannesburg.

People immediately took to social media to report it.

"Who else just felt the earthquake. That was a crazy... tremor," said Johannesburg resident Adrian Patrick on Facebook.

"Here in Durban too," responded Byron David.

Citizens from Johannesburg to KwaZulu-Natal, North West, and Cape Town reported feeling the quake.

Sapa's reporter in Durban said people in the 32-storey Durban Bay House, one of the tallest buildings in the city, were evacuated.

Hundreds of people were milling around Anton Lembede Street where the building is located in the city centre.

"I felt it. I thought I was going mad. I stood up and saw my colleagues rushing out," said Lungelo Xaba, who works on 17th floor of the building.

Johannesburg emergency services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said the tremor was felt in most parts of the city.

"The city has not received any reports of injuries, or collapsed building. However we will be monitoring the situation."

Engineering geologist Oliver Parker told eNCA that it was an earthquake, and went into details about the history of earthquakes on the sub-continent.
 
Tremors are common, usually caused by the underground mining detonations. If I remember correctly there's something like 17,000 of those each & every day......

This was different because it was stronger, lasted much longer and was felt over such great distances. At 10km below the surface, the epicentre was way deeper than any mine workings; this appears to have been a conventional tectonic earthquake.
 
I had warm sunshine on holiday in Scotland last month so I guess anything's possible!

I suppose that the main thing we're concerned about is more seismic activity- aftershocks and so on.
 
5.3 to 5.5 isnt a high no., but the reading on the richter scale doesnt give any idea of the true force of a quake.
What is of more relevence is the location of the epicentre and the depth of the quake. We have had quakes in the low 6s that topple furniture and unsecured objects when only 10 to 20 k deep and others as high as 8 which are nothing but a good series of rollers whith no damage reported but are a 100 k deep.
Of course,what is of more relevance is if the country is geared up for quakes. Because we are on the ring of fire, our building laws are very tuned to building codes which will survive most quakes.
 

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