Joburg hit by 5.3 magnitude earthquake

 ·5 Aug 2014

Roughly a minute-long earth tremor was felt in various parts of the country including Sapa’s offices in Greenside, Johannesburg, after midday on Tuesday.

Reuters reported that it was a 5.3 magnitude earthquake which hit central South Africa, shaking buildings in the financial capital of Johannesburg.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the tremor was centred in Orkney, 120 km (70 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, an area with a high concentration of gold mines.

Sapa’s building shook and pictures and computers rattled during the extended tremor.

Sapa’s reporter in Durban said the tremor was felt there too and people went out to the streets.

At Durban Bay House, one of the tallest buildings in the city, people had evacuated the building.

People immediately took to social media to report it.

“Who else just felt the earthquake. That was a crazy… tremor,” said Johannesburg resident Adrian Patrick on Facebook.

“Here in Durban too,” responded Byron David.

Citizens from Johannesburg to KwaZulu-Natal, North West, and Cape Town reported feeling the tremor.

Reports of buildings being evacuated in Johannesburg, Umhlanga, and other cities were also being reported on Twitter.

The SA Weather Service and the Council for Geosciences could not immediately be reached for details on the tremor.

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