Cape Town - An offshore earthquake occurred in the early hours of Tuesday just 60 kilometres off the Cape Town coastline, the Council for Geoscience (CGS) which is the custodian of the South African National Seismograph Network confirmed.
Measuring 3.4 on the Richter scale as recorded by the network, this is the third recorded earthquake this year.
The CGS said it received many reports from Cape Town residents who experienced the tremor. It is not uncommon for tremors to occur in the ocean, the council added in a statement.
It did not issue a tsunami warning and assured the public that there was no cause for panic.
On September 26, a 6.2 -magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of southern Africa, 1,918km from Cape Town. According to reports, its epicentre was at a depth of 10 kilometres. There were no reports of damage.
A second tremor was felt just hours after the initial one, but authorities said the two were not linked.
According to the CGS, the tremor registered a preliminary 2.3 on the local magnitude scale, with its epicentre around 5- 6 kilometres north of Durbanville, which is 29 kilometres outside Cape Town.
At the time a geophysicist warned that it could happen again.
Professor Andrzej Kijko, director of the Natural Hazards Centre at the University of Pretoria, said if Cape Town were to be hit by a large seismic event, there would be major damage to the city’s infrastructure and property.
https://twitter.com/SA_Updates_/status/1328469970959863808
#earthquake on the coast of Cape Town.
— SA Updates (@SA_Updates_) November 16, 2020
Magnitude: 3,5
47 km from Saldanha Bay Local Municipality · 00:27#Tremor #CapeTown pic.twitter.com/VWPoNUzBU7
https://twitter.com/LastQuake/status/1328470929429700615
M3.5 #earthquake (#aardbewing) strikes 76 km NW of Cape Town (South Africa) 25 min ago. Updated map of its effects: pic.twitter.com/8B0hUcka0T
— EMSC (@LastQuake) November 16, 2020
African News Agency (ANA)