3.3 magnitude: North West shudders in the aftermath of Gauteng earthquake
The North West province experienced a seismic-like event on Sunday, 11 June. The possible earthquake happened hours after a quake shook Gauteng with a magnitude of approximately 5.0. NORTH WEST PROVINCE RECORDS MAGNITUDE 3.3 MAGNITUDE SEISMIC EVENT Automated seismic data available on the Council for Geoscience website recorded the seismic event as having a magnitude of […]
The North West province experienced a seismic-like event on Sunday, 11 June. The possible earthquake happened hours after a quake shook Gauteng with a magnitude of approximately 5.0.
NORTH WEST PROVINCE RECORDS MAGNITUDE 3.3 MAGNITUDE SEISMIC EVENT
Automated seismic data available on the Council for Geoscience website recorded the seismic event as having a magnitude of 3.3. It occurred at approximately 16:34, with an epicentre near Buffelsvallei and Klipplaatdrif.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which approximates the epicentre with more populated areas, put the centre of the quake as 44 kilometres outside Klerksdorp, with a depth of 10 kilometres.
READ: Council for Geoscience confirms Gauteng earthquake, says epicentre was outside a mine
A single witness gave an account of the event via the EMSC testimony section. “It is not the first in our area. We know by now how it feels,” wrote someone in Matlosana, North West.
Volcano Discovery, another popular earthquake monitoring website, recorded 27 user reports for the North West event. The majority of reports noted weak shaking, rattling and vibrating.
“I felt the ground shaking. And the little bit of the sound from the building,” said one Klerksdorp resident. “The vibration was intence [sic] it wake [sic] me up,” added another.
“Felt strong long vibration. Woke my husband while he slept,” added another resident of the town, while someone in Orkney wrote, “Two-second rumbling running through my roof.”
READ: Gauteng 5.0 earthquake: Residents share startling stories [WATCH]
GAUTENG EARTHQUAKE
As previously reported, Gauteng was hit by an earthquake early on Sunday. Initial reports put the magnitude as 5.0.
The Council for Geoscience later reduced it to 4.4 and said the epicentre was outside the East Rand Proprietary Mine (ERPM) in the Boksburg area of Johannesburg.
The EMSC and United States Geological Survey recorded the East Rand earthquake as having a magnitude of 5.0.