Cape Town - A 6.2-magnitude earthquake off the coast of southern Africa had some Cape Town residents worried on Saturday night.
The quake, which occurred 1 918km SSE of Cape Town, hit at around 5.10 pm, according to the US Geological Survey.
With its epicentre at a depth of 10 kilometres, there were no tsunami warnings or reports of damage.
The Koeberg nuclear power plant outside Cape Town and Astron Energy, which owns Caltex, have assured locals that there was no immediate danger and no need to evacuate.
The City of Cape Town has confirmed that they have received reports of tremors but are still awaiting official confirmation.
“Reports have come from numerous suburbs of a tremor that was experienced,” said Charlotte Powell, the head of Public Awareness and Preparedness.
“The Disaster Risk Management Centre is not in a position to provide comment on the apparent seismic event until it has been confirmed by the South African Council for Geoscience.
“We can however confirm at this stage that the tremor did not appear to cause any impact on infrastructure of public safety.
“The City urges the public to report any potential impacts to our Public Emergency Communication Centre by dialing 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline,” she said.
Several Capetonians reported feeling tremors up to two hours after the seismic event and many of them took to social media to share their experience.
Among them were Good Things Guy's Brent Lindeque, who confirmed the quake on Twitter.
Yup, it was a proper flipping Earthquake with a 6,2 Magnitude! 2020 is not playing around.
— Brent Lindeque (@BrentLindeque) September 26, 2020
Lat: -48.02 & Long: 31.72
Depth: 10 Km
Location: 1918km SSE of Cape Town, South Africa
Most reports of mild to moderate shaking came from Melkbosstrand and Blouberg, with a number of people reporting that their houses shook. Some Bellville residents reported mild shaking of light fixtures.
It was horrific, my dogs went crazy!!!
— ElleB🐾🌿 (@Dootwa) September 26, 2020
Gosh that was really terrifying. Unbelievable to think it was so far away from Cape Town yet so loud here!
— karenventer.com (@karenventerbiz) September 26, 2020
BREAKING NEWS: Something similar to a tremor just took place in Cape Town.
— Athi Mtongana (@Artii_M) September 26, 2020
An advisory issued just after 8pm cautioned South Africans to expect aftershocks over the next few hours.
IOL