Joburg was hit by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake on Sunday morning

[ad_1]

At 02:38 on Sunday morning, Gauteng was hit by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake, which sent tremors across multiple suburbs. According to early data, the seismic activity appears to have originated in Ekangala, a town under Tshwane. Earthquake information appears as the first search result on Google thanks to the Android Earthquake Alerts System.

The people of Gauteng were awakened from their sleep early in the morning on Sunday, June 11, 2023, by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake at 02:38 am. This triggered tremors in parts of Johannesburg and Tshwane according to social media reports.

At the time of writing, it remains to be seen what damage the earthquake has caused, as well as whether any further seismic activity can be expected in the coming hours and days, with a magnitude 4.2 event occurring in October 2022.

As such, this may have been one of the loudest earthquakes the region has ever experienced.

A quick Google search of South Africa using the term “earthquake” brings up Android Earthquake Alerts System (AEAS) as the first result. When the seismic event first occurred, the seismic event was recorded at 4.8, rising to 5.0 in the following minutes.

Looking at data from Volcano Discovery, which tracks seismic events around the world, it appears that it originated in Ekangala, a town under the municipality of Tshwane City. However, Google’s AEAS seems to highlight Boksburg as a starting point.

“We are receiving early unverified reports of ground shaking that may have been caused by seismic activity at or near Ekangala, Gauteng, South Africa on June 11, 2023 (GMT) at approximately 00:38 GMT,” Volcano Discovery wrote on its site. Volcano Discovery wrote on their site.

No details are available yet on the size or depth of this possible earthquake. If confirmed, we can expect more accurate data to emerge in the next few minutes.

While the full extent of the event has yet to be detailed, anecdotal experiences online indicate household items and furniture fell, as well as structures shaking and slightly shaking. Either way, this latest event is one of the few that the region has seen in recent months.

[ad_2]