Read more
2.5 magnitude earthquake rattles parts of Joburg and West Rand
There were no immediate reports of any damages or injuries.
It is understood the tremor struck on Tuesday. Picture: iStock
The Council for Geoscience confirmed that an earthquake hit several parts of Johannesburg and the West Rand.
The council’s spokesperson Mahlatse Mononela said the quake struck on Tuesday at about 12:29am.
“The earthquake registered a local magnitude of approximately 2.5 as recorded by the South African Seismograph Network (SANSN).
“The epicentre was located south of Johannesburg, approximately 3km north of Harmony Doornkop Gold Mine,” Mononela said.
Earlier, Gauteng Weather shared details of the quake on X.
🔴 BREAKING: TREMOR FELT IN PARTS OF JOHANNESBURG & THE WEST RAND AT 00:29 ON TUESDAY!!!
— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) January 22, 2024
Earthquakes
There were no immediate reports of any damages or injuries, but social media users took to several platforms to share their experiences.
This is not the first time that an earthquake has hit Gauteng.
ALSO READ: Another tremor felt in parts of Joburg
In October, an earth tremor was felt across several parts of Johannesburg and the West Rand.
0n 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.
Big quake in SA
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 will 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,” he said.
“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.”
ALSO READ: Soweto earthquake a result of earth ‘readjusting itself’ − expert
