Cape Town – “The situation is being monitored closely and there are no imminent threats to public safety.”
This is according to MEC of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning in the Western Cape Anton Bredell after a minor earth tremor measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale occurred on Tuesday, November 17 at 00:27 SAST.
Bredell said according to information provided by a report from the Council of Geoscience (CGS), the tremor was felt in the ocean off the West Coast of Saldanha Bay.
"Following the event, some small aftershocks were felt in various Western Cape towns and Cape Town suburbs with no reports of damages to infrastructure or casualties, and no tsunami warning was issued.“
Bredell added the seismic activity was no cause for panic.
Members of the public can report any potential impacts or concerns to the City of Cape Town’s Public Emergency Communication Centre by dialing 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline.
According Bredell, the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre was in contact with the Council of Geoscience, the National Disaster Management Centre as well as all key stakeholders who were jointly monitoring the situation.
“In addition, the Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management Centre as well as the City of Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Centre are still activated for Covid-19 and are on standby for any disaster.”
The recent seismic activity follows the a 2.6-magnitude quake, and the tremors Cape residents experienced at the end of September.
At the time, the Council for Geoscience confirmed a 6.2-magnitude quake struck 1 600km south-east of South Africa. A 2.6-magnitude quake (tremor) was felt 9km north of Cape Town, as the same time.
Cape Argus