Did you feel the earth move? No need to panic, says CGS after earthquake in Cape

The Council for Geoscience has confirmed that an offshore earthquake occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning just 60 kilometres off the Cape Town coastline. Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA) Archives

The Council for Geoscience has confirmed that an offshore earthquake occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning just 60 kilometres off the Cape Town coastline. Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA) Archives

Published Nov 17, 2020

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Cape Town - An offshore earthquake occurred in the early hours of Tuesday just 60 kilometres off the Cape Town coastline, the Council for Geoscience (CGS) which is the custodian of the South African National Seismograph Network confirmed.

Measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale as recorded by the network, this is the third recorded earthquake this year.

The CGS said it received many reports from Cape Town residents who experienced the tremor. It is not uncommon for tremors to occur in the ocean, the council added in a statement.

It did not issue a tsunami warning and assured the public that there was no cause for panic.

On September 26, a 6.2 -magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of southern Africa, 1,918km from Cape Town. According to reports, its epicentre was at a depth of 10 kilometres. There were no reports of damage.

A second tremor was felt just hours after the initial one, but authorities said the two were not linked.

According to the CGS, the tremor registered a preliminary 2.3 on the local magnitude scale, with its epicentre around 5- 6 kilometres north of Durbanville, which is 29 kilometres outside Cape Town.

At the time a geophysicist warned that it could happen again.

Professor Andrzej Kijko, director of the Natural Hazards Centre at the University of Pretoria, said if Cape Town were to be hit by a large seismic event, there would be major damage to the city’s infrastructure and property.

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African News Agency (ANA)

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