Second KZN earthquake this weekend confirmed by authorities

The Council for Geoscience (GCS) confirmed on Sunday that an earthquake occurred in KwaZulu-Natal, affirming a number of reports by shaken residents.

Latest quake

The GCS said in a statement the tremor occurred on Sunday morning at around 9:29am, and registered a “preliminary magnitude of 3.9 on the local magnitude scale as recorded by the South African Seismograph Network (SANSN)”.

The earthquake’s epicentre was located in KZN’s Mnkangala region, roughly 40km north of Kokstad.

ALSO READ: Another earth tremor reported in KZN

Saturday tremor

A tremor felt on Saturday was also confirmed by the GCS, also registering about 3.9 on the local magnitude scale, the SANSN confirmed.

This earthquake’s epicentre was located approximately 40km north-east of Greytown and 30km east of Tugela Ferry in KZN.

One Nkandla resident told Zululand Observer he thought his house was falling apart, while a resident from Arboretum said his entire house shook.

Most people who felt the tremor said it only lasted a short while. No damage has been reported so far.

Although the GCS said the quakes did not occur along the same geological structure of fault, they could be interrelated “on a much more regional scale”.

ALSO READ: KZN weather: ‘Tornado-like’ storm and tremor felt hours apart [PICS, VIDEO]

Calls for calm

The council emphasised there was no need to panic, and that technical experts had been dispatched to analyse the preliminary epicentres and magnitudes.

KwaZulu-Natal government has also called for calm while it verifies reports of the tremors felt as far as Pietermaritzburg, The Witness reported.

MEC for Cogta, Sihle Zikalala, said: “We wish to call for calm amongst all communities. The disaster management machinery is monitoring the situation and will be available for deployment where necessary.”

One week ago, there were reports that a 4.2 magnitude tremor was felt in areas around Johannesburg, including Westonaria.

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Compiled by Nica Richards.