SA NEWS
#Earthquake
Selina Mokatsane
South Africa has recently experienced two earthquakes
in less than three weeks and social media was abuzz
on the topic. The first tremor, an estimated 5.3 magnitude earthquake (measured on the Richter scale)
took place in Orkney, North West but was felt throughout many parts of the country. The aftermath of the
quake includes more than six hundred houses that
have reportedly been ruined. One fatality occurred as
a 31-year-old man was killed by a brick wall. He was
found limp and lifeless under some rubble. The latest
tremor took place in the early morning of 22 August
at around 01:14, eNCA reports. Although there are a
few people who did not experience the tremor others
expressed their shock. The myriad of posts on social
media on the Friday morning and throughout the day
greatly affirmed the perplexity of many people. According to the USGA (United States Geological Survey) the
quake was approximately 4.6 in magnitude and around
10 kilometres deep.
One cannot help but wonder what on earth caused the
mighty shaking. What follows is a brief explanation: All
of the earth’s continents are situated on a surface of
giant jigsaw-puzzle-like sections called tectonic plates.
These in turn rest on a semi-liquid, semi-solid and
partly gaseous magma (molten rock). For this reason,
as one can imagine, the magma is in constant motion.
The movement of the tectonic plates can be accounted
for the tremors in South Africa, however mining as a
causal factor cannot be completely ruled out.
22 - Student 24/7
Proffesor Japser Knight of Wits University Physical
Geography has said about the first nationwide tremor,
“This earthquake is quite big, but there will be other big
ones to come. We don’t know where, we don’t know
when.” It is clear that this phenomenon has occurred
suddenly and unexpectedly on both occasions. However there are safety measure that can be taken in the
event of a quake: people are urged to evacuate buildings and go outside for safety.