By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Council of Geoscience (CGS) has confirmed that an earth tremor has hit several parts of Johannesburg last night.
Eldrige Kgaswane seismologist at the CGS said, the tremor recorded a 2.4 preliminary magnitude.
The tremor hit just before 8pm on Tuesday evening.
Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said, no injuries/damages have been reported through our City of Johannesburg Emergency Services Call Centre, residents are urged to call us on 011 375 5911 for any Life Threatening Emergencies.
The tremor comes two months after a 2.6-magnitude tremor with the epicentre near Johannesburg south was recorded in July.
“The preliminary results show that the earthquake registered a local magnitude of approximately 2.6, as recorded by the South African Seismograph Network (SANSN).”
Kgaswane said its preliminary seismic findings indicated the probable epicentral area (Mooifontein tailings dams located southwest of the Johannesburg CBD) could lie between a network of fault or fracture structures that are intersecting each other, and over time the structures could fail due to the weight exerted by of the tailing dams’ stockpile of waste material.
“This is evident from the fault plane solutions of the main events and aftershocks, which show a strike-slip normal fault focal mechanism and stresses oriented approximately northeast-southwest.”
Another hypothesis, however, suggests past precipitation could form a water table within the tailing’s stockpile, He added.
On 11 June 2023, South Africans were awoken by a powerful 4.4 magnitude earthquake, which was felt across large parts of Gauteng.