Earthquake recorded off the coast of Cape Town

17 November 2020 - 07:52 By orrin singh
subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now
A 3.5 magnitude earthquake was recorded just off the coast of the Saldanha Bay local municipality in Cape Town on Tuesday morning
A 3.5 magnitude earthquake was recorded just off the coast of the Saldanha Bay local municipality in Cape Town on Tuesday morning
Image: Screenshot/Google

Cape Town residents reported a slight rumble as the ground shook beneath their feet in the early hours of Tuesday morning due to a 3.4 magnitude earthquake recorded off the coast of the Mother City.

SA's Council for Geoscience (CGS) confirmed that an earthquake was recorded at 12.27am.

The council said the quake occurred just 60km off the coast of Cape Town.

“The earthquake registered a preliminary 3.4 on the local magnitude scale as recorded by the SA Seismograph Network,” it stated.

There was no need for concern from residents, the council said.

It is not uncommon for tremors to occur in the ocean. Furthermore, there has been no tsunami warning issued and it is on this basis that the CGS would like to assure the public that there is no cause for panic.”

According to the Euro-Med Seismological Centre (EMSC), a Paris-based independent scientific organisation and provider of real-time earthquake information, the quake struck 76km northwest of Cape Town and 41km south of Saldanha.

Information published on the EMSC website suggests that the earthquake penetrated a depth of 5km. 

In September, Cape Town residents experienced two tremors on consecutive days.

ST Daily reported that the first was felt in the Durbanville area at 8.41pm on September 26 and measured a 2.5 magnitude. The second was felt at about 9.21am the following day, at a similar strength.

Meanwhile many Twitter users reported “rattling” and “shaking”. 

TimesLIVE


subscribe Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.
Subscribe now

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.