NATIONAL NEWS - South Africans were awoken to a powerful 5.0 magnitude earthquake which was felt across large parts of Gauteng.
The earthquake hit the Gauteng province at approximately 02:38 early on Sunday morning causing homes and buildings to shake.
Magnitude
Regional weather service Gauteng Weather initially shared the details of the earthquake on social media platform Twitter.
The epicentre was believed to be near Alberton or Boksburg on the East Rand.
“Estimated 4.5-magnitude tremor with epicentre near Boksburg, felt across large parts of Gauteng at 02:38,” it tweeted.
However, some estimates suggested the relatively long earthquake was as high as 5.0 magnitude.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced the incident saying the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 and struck about 10 kilometers below the surface.
According to the SA National Seismograph Network, Sunday morning’s tremor was significantly more intense than other recent events.
Damages
There have been no immediate reports of any damages or injuries to people.
The earthquake which lasted for a few seconds was felt as far as Pretoria and even other provinces across the country.
South Africans took to social media to share their experiences of being of frightened and awoken by their homes shaking and furniture rattling.
Free State tremor
In March, the Free State was also hit in by earth tremors, but did not cause any damages.
The Council for Geoscience (CGS) confirmed that the earthquake hit about 60km south of Bloemfontein.
The quake happened just before 09:00.
According to CGS, the earthquake registered a preliminary 3.6 on the local magnitude scale as recorded by the South African Seismograph Network.
“The epicentre was located at about 60km south of Bloemfontein, in the Biesiefontein area,” it said.
