Photo: Pixabay

Cape Town earthquakes: Four vital things to know about Sunday’s tremor

Geoscientists have released an official summary of the ‘earthquake event’ that hit Cape Town on Sunday – here’s what they had to say about the tremor.

by Tom Head

27-09-2020 12:13

in News

Photo: Pixabay

The dust seems to have settled after a particularly shaky weekend in Cape Town. Multiple tremors have left residents baffled, after they experienced earthquake events on both Saturday and Sunday.

Earthquake events in Cape Town

The Council for Geoscience (CGS) has moved to give clarity to the situation. Amid the speculation, this organisation is the ultimate authority on seismic happenings in South Africa – and they explained the weekend’s events earlier:

“The Council for Geoscience (CGS) can confirm that a second earth tremor was felt at 9:12 on Sunday 27 September. Reports have been coming in from residents in the Cape Town area who have felt the earthquake this morning. The CGS would like to appeal to the public to not panic during this time.”
CGS statement

So, with the facts now established by the people in the know, it’s time to review what we know about Sunday’s tremor.

Cape Town tremor on Sunday 27 September – what you need to know

What was the strength of the tremor on Sunday?

Measuring at 2.3 on the local magnitude scale, the Sunday tremor was a relatively subdued seismic event. Anything that registers above 4.0 is considered a ‘significant earthquake event’.

Where was the earthquake epicentre?

Experts have pinpointed that the Sunday tremor took place near Durbanville. The suburb, already rocked once by Saturday night’s supposed earthquake, was again shaking earlier this morning. The epicentre is thought to have been ‘five or six kilometres north of Durbanville’.

Are the earthquakes reported on Saturday and Sunday related events?

According to the CGS, there is a possibility that both events are linked, as they occurred in ‘the same area’. Saturday’s quake, allegedly separate from a 6.2 magnitude event in the South Atlantic Ocean, was reported at 20:41 last night.

Tremor latest: What was the bigger event?

People have reported feeling the tremor twice – and that’s because the two separate events were very similar in strength. However, Sunday’s seismic shift, measuring 2.3, was slightly weaker than what was recorded on Saturday. The first earthquake reported in Cape Town this weekend measured 2.5 on the same magnitude scale.