- At 02:38 AM on Sunday morning, Gauteng was hit with a 4.8 magnitude earthquake, resulting in tremors across multiple suburbs.
- According to early data, the seismic activity appears to have originated in Ekangala, a township that falls under the City of Tshwane.
- Information regarding the earthquake appears as the first Google search result thanks to its Android Earthquake Alerts System.
Gauteng residents were woken from their sleep early on Sunday morning, 11th June 2023, by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake at 02:38 AM. This resulted in tremors across parts of Johannesburg and Tshwane according to social media reports.
At the time of writing, it remains to be seen what damage the earthquake has caused, as well as whether any further seismic activity can be expected in the coming hours and days, with a 4.2 magnitude event happening in October 2022.
As such, this may be one of the highest record earthquakes experienced in the region.
A quick search on Google South Africa with the term “earthquake” brings up the Android Earthquake Alerts System (AEAS) as the first result. When the seismic event first occurred, the seismic event was recorded at 4.8, rising to 5.0 in the following minutes.
Looking at data from Volcano Discovery, which tracks seismic events across the globe, it appears to have originated in Ekangala, which is a township that falls under the City of Tshwane municipality. That said, it looks like Google’s AEAS highlights Boksburg as the point of origin.
“We are receiving unverified early reports of ground shaking possibly caused by seismic activity in or near Ekangala, Gauteng, South Africa on 11 Jun 2023 (GMT) at approximately 00:38 GMT,” wrote Volcano Discovery on its site.
“There are no details yet on the magnitude or depth of this possible quake. If confirmed, we can expect more accurate data to emerge in the next few minutes,” it added.
While the full extent of the event is yet to be detailed, anecdotal experiences online note household items and furniture falling, as well as building structures vibrating and shaking slightly. Either way, this latest event is one of a handful that the region has experienced in recent months.
