Many Durban and some Pietermaritzburg residents took to social media on Thursday morning to share and ask others if they also felt the earth tremor.
Who felt the earthquake in Durban at 4 am????? pic.twitter.com/5zImCQGbXg
— MINISTER OF HIV (@niqita11) June 17, 2021
The country woke up to news that while most of them were sleeping, an earth tremor rocked Durban.
Guys everything just shook for few seconds ..was that earthquake in Durban?
— ✨Valeh✨ (@realvovo) June 17, 2021
According to Volcano Discovery, they received unconfirmed reports of a tremor 34km northeast of Pietermaritzburg at 4.01am.
“Our monitoring service AllQuakes received reports of an earthquake in or near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa at around 02:03 GMT. Unless confirmed by at least one national or international seismological agency, its status remains unconfirmed.
Who felt the Earthquake this morning. Please confirm that I’m not crazy! #Durban #earthquake pic.twitter.com/tm3UCpUT3k
— Mangqumu (@Mangqumu1) June 17, 2021
“There are no details yet on the magnitude or depth of this earthquake. We expect more accurate data to emerge in the next few minutes. The location and magnitude mentioned are indicative and temporary until the AllQuakes monitoring service receives more exact scientific data from a national or international seismological agency. Check back here shortly ad stay safe,” they said in a post online.
Cogta MEC calls for calm after reports of earth tremor
The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, has called for calm following reports that were received by the Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC), of an earth tremor in or near Durban.
Ilembe district outside #Durban pic.twitter.com/1MjKaaYD5P
— Mfundo 🇿🇦 (@Mhayise_Sedana) June 17, 2021
“We are calling upon our communities to remain calm while these claims are being verified. Reports we’ve received so far from our Disaster Management teams indicate that no major incident has occurred as a result of the alleged seismic activity”
MEC Hlomuka has tasked the PDMC to work with the Council for GeoSciences in confirming specific details about this reported incident.
I never felt nothing…. 🧐 #Durban
— CAROL MAPULA OFORI (@CarolOfori) June 17, 2021
The province has in the past experienced seismic activity.
Early risers in KwaZulu-Natal may have woken up to unusual movements on Thursday 17 June. If you were one of them, you MAY have had the rare opportunity of experiencing an earth tremor.
Volcanoe.com indicated that it received unconfirmed reports of a 3.8-magnitude tremor in the uMzinyathi District Municipality, 72km northeast of Pietermaritzburg at around 4:00.
According to the Daily Monitor, earthquakes have to do with an underground surface called the fault plane. Breaking rocks under stress knock against the fault planes resulting in an earthquake. Tremors are caused when stress in underground rocks causes surface vibrations.
Earth movements that measure more than four points on the Richter scale are considered to be an earthquake, so KwaZulu-Natal residents…..if you felt a vibration, it was most likely a tremor. This, however, has not yet been confirmed according to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).
