By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
A moderate magnitude of 3.7 earthquake was recorded in Orkney near Klerksdorp in North West earlier this morning.
According to Volcano Discovery, a global initiative that provides quake information, the magnitude 3.7 earthquake hit 7.4km away from Orkney at about 07:07.
The quake had a very shallow depth of 10 km (6 mi) and was felt by many near the epicenter.
“The quake had a very shallow depth of 10km and was felt by many near the epicentre. The shallow depth of the quake caused it to be felt more strongly near the epicentre than a deeper quake of similar magnitude would,” reads information about the quake on Volcano Discovery’s website.
The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Klerksdorp, a city with more than 178,900 inhabitants in North West, in 16.9 km (10 mi) distance northwest of the epicenter.
Earthquakes are rare in South Africa. The last one to measure 5.0 magnitude or higher was in 2014, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That 5.4 magnitude quake had its epicenter near the gold mining town of Orkney in the North West province and one person was reported to have died.