Cape Town was hit by a 3.4 magnitude earthquake a few minutes past midnight, on Tuesday.
Cape Town earthquake: Where was the epicentre?
The epicentre, according to the United States Geological Survey, was situated 47km from Saldanha Bay Local Municipality.
Accounts from locals who were woken by the trembling earth suggest that the tremor lasted for about 10 seconds.
12:28am Earth Tremor in Cape Town. My house was shaking. Who else felt it ? #CapeTown #Earthquake #Tremor
— Stanley Elebo (@SOElebo) November 16, 2020
The Cape Town earthquake was confirmed by the Council for Geoscience (CGS) and Earthquake Track. As far as we know, no reports were received of possible damage caused by the earthquake.
Locals quickly took to social media to share their experiences with the earthquake. One user went as far as warning of a “possible Tsunami risk.”
Earthquake in Cape Town minutes ago. Possible Taunami risk. Location is offshore. Move now if needed. #capetownearthquake
— Mark Maunder (@mmaunder) November 16, 2020
Http://196.38.235.147:8070/quakeview/events/event_details/CGS2020wojk pic.twitter.com/hpxGoTAPRC
Three quakes in two months for the Mother City
This is the third time Cape Town has been hit by an earthquake in three months. The first carried a 6.2 magnitude and was felt on the evening of 26 September.
The next morning, most parts of the city were hit by a 2.3 magnitude tremor with its epicentre reported to be in Durbanville.
Thus far, the only real scare we have felt is from the first earthquake. According to Michigan Tech, any tremor below 5.0 magnitude is nothing to worry much about.
It’s only when the magnitude of an earthquake rises above 7.0 that major damage ought to be expected.
Should we be worried? Well, based on notes from CGS, tremors of this nature are not uncommon. We can only hope that nature’s streak of freak accidents in 2020 doesn’t bring along a high-magnitude earthquake that could threaten lives.