Cape Town - While Capetonians brace for more severe weather, the Council for Geoscience (CGS) confirmed that a 6.3 magnitude earthquake occurred on Wednesday morning.
The earthquake happened at around 6.56am, as recorded by the South African National Seismograph Network (SANSN). The depth was recorded as 8.8km.
The CGS is the custodian of the SANSN, which monitors seismic wave activities throughout the country.
CGS spokesperson Mahlatse Mononela said the epicentre was 1 580km off the coast of Mossel Bay.
“We could say it is a tectonic earthquake related to activities of a well-known passive margin thousands of kilometres south of the Cape province.
“By virtue of its distance from the southern coast of Cape, it is not related to anthropogenic activities of gas exploitation in Mossel Bay,” Mononela said.
“This passive margin is not typically prone to volcanic eruptions.”
Senior forecaster at the SA Weather Service Stella Nake said they were aware of the earthquake, but did not anticipate an impact along the coast as the event was far south of the country.
“If any, it should be minimal but we rely on the guidance from the CGS, should there be any significant rise in water levels along our coastal areas.”
Mononela added that earthquakes aren’t an uncommon phenomenon for the country, and that the SANSN records several seismic events every day of varying magnitudes. “Depending on the magnitude, some events are felt, and some are not felt. Normally events of very low magnitudes are not felt while those of higher magnitudes may be felt.
“South Africa experiences a significant volume of seismic events, particularly in provinces like North West, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape, Gauteng and the Free State,” Mononela said.
She added that as earthquakes occur on a daily basis, the public is encouraged to record their experiences on the questionnaire that can be found on the CGS website, www.geoscience.org.za, as part of their data collection efforts.