The earthquake whose ripple effects were felt by many South Africans earlier today seems to have missed the highway area.
Reports of a tremor surfaced on social media immediately after it was felt in several parts of the country, including Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. It was reported to have been felt in Mozambique and Botswana as well.
No tremors were reported anywhere in the highway area.
It has since been confirmed that it was an earthquake.
According to the USGS National Earthquake Information Center, the earthquake measured 5.3 on the Richter scale.
The quake apparently originated 6 kilometres east of Orkney in the North West province, where one man was reportedly killed when a building collapsed on him.
While earthquakes in South Africa are almost unheard of, they can be devastating, such as the Ceres earthquake of 1969.
Thankfully the stable tectonic setting of South Africa means that large earthquakes have been comparatively rare.
Tremors on the other hand are an almost daily occurrence in South Africa due to all the mining we do, but most often go unnoticed.
If you live in the highway area and felt something today, leave a comment below, or on our Facebook page, or tweet to @HighwayMail.
