EARTH TREMOR IN CAPE TOWN

The earth shook slightly and briefly, but it was enough to wake hundreds and thousands of people in parts of the Western Cape.

According to the Council for Geoscience (CGS), the tremor was recorded at a magnitude of 5.26 and occurred at 02:51 on Sunday.

The affected areas where shaking was reported include parts of Cape Town, Worcester, Ceres and Paarl.

The tremor was predicted earlier this month by Earthquake News Everyday. The publication published an article predicting the earthquake will hit regions between 5 and 20 December in the areas of the Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean and surrounding countries, including South Africa. It also predicted the earthquake would have a magnitude of 6.0 to 8.0.

But, the CGS said it’s impossible to predict specific magnitudes and exact locations within such a short timeframe. The Council dismissed the prediction and said it was not scientifically plausible.

Doctor Eldridge Kgaswane, chief scientist at the CGS said: “Scientists cannot predict the exact time, location, and magnitude of individual earthquakes with high accuracy, as claimed in the article. Earthquake forecasting, which estimates the probability of earthquakes occurring in a region over some time, is possible but it is not precise.”

No injuries were reported.

Image credit: The Structural Engineer