Another earthquake hits parts of Joburg

There has been yet another reported earthquake or tremor in Gauteng.

According to Gauteng Weather, the 2.6-magnitude tremor with epicentre near Johannesburg south was recorded early on Monday morning.

Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said there have been no reports of any damages or injuries.

The Council for Geoscience (CGS) spokesperson Mahlatse Mononela confirmed details of the earthquake to The Citizen.

“The Council for Geosciencecan confirm that an earthquake occurred on Monday early morning, 01 July 2024, at around 02:27 SAST. The preliminary results show that the earthquake registered a local magnitude of approximately 2.6, as recorded by the South African Seismograph Network (SANSN).

“The epicentre was located close to Nasrec, South of Johannesburg,” Mononela said.

🔴 BREAKING: 2.6-MAGNITUDE TREMOR WITH EPICENTRE NEAR JOHANNESBURG SOUTH, RECORDED AT 02:27 ON MONDAY. IT COMES A LITTLE OVER A DAY AFTER A 3-MAGNITUDE TREMOR JOLTED GAUTENG!

— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) July 1, 2024

Joburg earthquake

The recent tremor comes after a 2.3 magnitude earthquake hit parts of Johannesburg in Gauteng on Saturday.

The earthquake was felt in parts of Roodepoort, Soweto, Auckland Park, Naturena, Turffontein and Weltevreden Park, among other areas.

The Council for Geoscience (CGS) spokesperson Mahlatse Mononela confirmed the quake to The Citizen.

“We can confirm that a 2.3 magnitude earth tremor occurred at around 18:26 this evening in Johannesburg South. It was followed by an aftershock that was felt at least 3.9km from the epicentre measuring 1.6 magnitude.”

Seismic-like event, possible #earthquake, reported few minutes ago near Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa – i…: https://t.co/UkcWcFv6Kx

— Earthquake Monitor (@EQAlerts) July 1, 2024

ALSO READ: 2.3 magnitude earthquake hits parts of Gauteng

Other earthquakes

On 11 June 2023, South Africans were awoken by a powerful 4.4 magnitude earthquake, which was felt across large parts of Gauteng.

The quake hit the south of Boksburg at about 2.38am, causing homes and buildings to shake.

Just two weeks later, on 29 June, Johannesburg residents were shaken awake by a 2.9 magnitude quake originating in Soweto.

The big one

With a number of tremors hitting South Africa, the head of Archaeology and Geography at Wits University, Professor Gillian Drennan, told The Citizen last year that it was very difficult to predict if the country would experience a major earthquake with catastrophic consequences.

“We can’t predict. There are multiple reasons for an earthquake. Are we going to see a huge one like the one that destroyed half of Japan? We are not on a plate boundary so we are not going to see that kind of activity.

“But we are moving support underground either because of mining or getting water from underground. So when the earth readjusts, it collapses the ground to close up the empty space. That’s how it does it,” Drennan said.

ALSO READ: Soweto earthquake a result of earth ‘readjusting itself’ − expert