The Mercury E-dition

No seismic activity in KZN says GeoScience

SAKHISENI NXUMALO sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za

THE Council for GeoScience has said seismic monitoring stations across the country and abroad did not pick up any signs of a tremor in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday.

The council was commenting after several people posted on social media groups about experiencing a tremor in the early hours of yesterday.

It was reported on social media that the seismic activity took place in areas within uMzinyathi District Municipality, and eThekwini district.

Nomalanga Duma from Newlands East, Durban, said she heard a rumbling sound when she woke up yesterday morning just after 3am.

“At first I thought it was a thunderstorm and I was so convinced that it was it. However, when I looked outside, I noticed that there was a clear sky.

“In the morning, I noticed that many of my colleagues from Inanda, Durban north and uMlazi, were talking about it on our WhatsApp group and that they heard the same sound. Also on Facebook, people were posting about tremors,” she said.

However, the Council for GeoScience spokesperson Mahlatse Mononela said that after checking with various entities, none could confirm there had been a tremor.

Mononela said they checked with all seismic monitoring stations across the country and others from neighbouring countries, and they had no reports of the tremor.

“We also went further to check with the USGS (United States Geological Survey) and we also got nothing on their side. There is no specific evidence of tremor, thus, we regard the reports as false,” she said.

She appealed to people not to panic.

“There is no earthquake reported and people should not panic. People should be careful with what they post on social media because such reports are causing unnecessary panic,” she said.

KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka called for calm and said reports that were also received by the Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) regarding the tremor.

“We are calling upon our communities to remain calm while these claims are being verified. Reports we’ve received so far from our Disaster Management teams indicate that no major incident has occurred as a result of the alleged seismic activity.”

Hlomuka said he had tasked the PDMC to work with the Council for GeoScience to probe the matter.

METRO

en-za

2021-06-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

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