No deaths reported after 4.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Gauteng

No fatalities or injuries have been reported following Sunday morning’s tremor in Gauteng.

Some residents in Gauteng were shaken awake around 2:38am on Sunday as a 4.4 magnitude earthquake hit the province, particularly in the East Rand.

The magnitude was recorded by the South African Seismograph Network (SANSN).

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According to Council for Geoscience (CGS), the epicentre was located in the Boksburg area a few kilometres outside East Rand Proprietary Mine in Ekurhuleni.

Some people have since posted videos and photos on social media of some structural damages to their properties as a result of the seismic event.

“The public is encouraged to record their experiences using the available online questionnaire,” CGS said in a statement.

Structural damage

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika on Sunday, the City of Ekurhuleni’s emergency services (EMS) confirmed that they responded to a incident at Bedfordview Shopping Centre.

“On our arrival, we found that the ceiling has basically collapsed and, for safety reasons, we had to evacuate everyone. The owner [was told] to close up so structural engineers can come and do some inspection before they can start operating,” Ekurhuleni EMS spokesperson William Ntladi said.

Ntladi said there was no other major incidents reported besides some residents reporting damage to the windows of their houses.

No casualties as well as injuries’ have been reported at this stage.

Free State earthquake

The last earthquake took place in the Free State province in March this year.

A 3.6 magnitude was recorded at the time.

The seismic event mainly hit the Biesiefontein area, located at about 60km south of Bloemfontein.

Furthermore, two earthquakes also hit KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in November 2022.

Both tremors had a 3.9 magnitude, the SANSN confirmed.

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