No record of earthquake, geoscience experts say after KZN residents report tremor

KwaZulu-Natal Member of the Executive Council for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sipho Hlomuka urged residents to remain calm, noting that disaster management teams had indicated that no major incident had occurred as a result of seismic activity.

DURBAN, June 17 (ANA) – The South African Council for Geoscience said on Thursday it had no record of an earthquake on both its domestic and international seismic monitoring systems after several media reports suggesting one had hit areas of Durban and Pinetown.

“We do not have any record of an earthquake on our seismic monitoring system both locally and through our counterparts internationally,” its spokesperson Mahlatse Mononela told the African News Agency (ANA).

KwaZulu-Natal Member of the Executive Council for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sipho Hlomuka urged residents to remain calm, noting that disaster management teams had indicated that no major incident had occurred as a result of seismic activity.

On Wednesday, a statement from the Durban Metro Police Department said parts of the N2 highway would be closed off due to “blasting taking place” at around mid-day, but there was no suggestion this could be the source of the tremors experienced by residents.

Online weather tracker Volcano Discovery said on Thursday it received reports of an earthquake with a magnitude of around 3.8 on the Richter scale in the Durban area at around 2 am.

“There are no details yet on the magnitude or depth of this earthquake. We expect more accurate data to emerge in the next few minutes. Unless confirmed by at least one national or international seismological agency, its status remains unconfirmed,” Volcano Discovery said.

Provincial radio station East Coast Radio put a poll out during its breakfast show on Thursday morning asking residents around KwaZulu-Natal whether or not they had felt the tremor, and found that the areas of Phoenix, Verulam, Newlands West, Tongaat and Inanda had the highest numbers of people affirming it.

“Yes. Felt it in Phoenix. Thought it was just heavy thunder. My windows were shaking,” said one respondent.

“I wanted to confirm the earth tremor, I also felt it KwaMashu. Early hours of the morning,” another added.

– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa