Tremor alert! Johannesburg shook by ‘mini-quake’ on Saturday evening

The seismic activity was logged by dozens of Twitter users, who rushed to their social media platforms to describe their experiences. A number of locals noted that this particular tremor ‘felt stronger’ than previous ones.

That tremor felt unusually stronger then the ones we get. Aowa.

— R (@_reneiloe) March 5, 2022

Wow this tremor shook for a while

Weitsi re tlo wela ke dintlu#tremor #fleurhof

— #TeamLefatlha (@Malom_Tebogo) March 5, 2022

Just felt an Earth tremor in my area

— Nomsa Mdhluli (@Nomsa_Md) March 5, 2022

Was it an earthquake or not?

Alas, despite fears that this may have been a stronger earthquake than usual, data shared by the Council for Geoscience suggests that this tremor was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it wasn’t even the strongest tremor recorded this weekend in South Africa.

The 19:00 tectonic shift on Saturday measured at 3.1 on the Richter Scale. It’s epicentre was to the west of Lenasia and Ennerdale. A stronger quake was recorded off the West Coast, with a 3.8 tremor registering at 3:00.

Johannesburg locals report ‘significant seismic event’

Remember, for a seismic event to be considered an earthquake, it has to clock 4.0 or more. Officially speaking, Mzansi was a quake-free zone over the weekend – but try telling that to these guys…

Damn I felt that tremor

— Bongekile Mthembu (@_Bongekile_) March 5, 2022

wait we all felt that right?

— jannat jalebi (@tasmiyahhhhh) March 5, 2022

I dnt think I ll be able to sleep tonight, that tremor

— NkabaEM (@N_E_M01) March 5, 2022