2.5 magnitude tremor recorded in Mtunzini

The tremor had a magnitude of 2.5 and was recorded in Mtunzini near the Umlalazi Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal.

Commenting on social media, members of the public said the tremor lasted 2 to 3 seconds on Sunday, the Zululand Observer reported.

Mtunzini, Empangeni, eSikhaleni, Hluhluwe, Pongola and Hlabisa were among affected areas reported by Zululanders.

Ian Saunders from the Council of Geoscience confirmed that seismographs picked up on the earth tremor at 6.10am.

Lecturer at the University of KZN (UKZN) Dr Mayshree Singh, a geophysicist with experience in mapping hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis, said the region itself was subject to naturally occurring earthquakes.

“With regard to the area, we don’t understand its tectonic source or mechanism at this stage.

“You must remember that one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in South Africa took place in St Lucia in 1932 with a local magnitude of 6.3,” added Singh.

Meanwhile, a 4.9-magnitude earthquake was recorded earlier that morning at about 4.10am at the Anna De Koningh Seamount, about 2 000km south of Jeffreys Bay.

Information provided online by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed the earthquake, but experts say they cannot speculate as to whether the tremor in Mtunzini was an after-shock tremor related to the earthquake earlier that morning.

According to a study compiled by the Council of Geoscience in 2011, on a global scale South Africa is considered a stable region, because it is located away from boundaries between tectonic plates.

Therefore its activity rate is lower than in seismically active regions like California or Japan.

This means that while earthquakes are comparatively rare, they can still happen from time to time.

Dr Singh added that a KZN monitoring station was being set up at Westville campus and should be up and operating towards the end of the month.

“Our new station should be able to provide us with better accuracy in terms of the location of tremors,” she said.

Earlier this month a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Botswana led to considerable tremors in South Africa, felt as far apart as Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg and Durban.

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– Caxton News Service

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