Earthquake, rumble or just an imagination? By Staff Reporter WINDHOEK residents woke up yesterday morning asking each other whether what they experienced was a tremor or “just the rumble of a heavy duty vehicle moving past the house”. Others were worried that this is becoming a regular occurrence in the country with the previous one being felt in the Khorixas area in March this year. The one in March was not far from where the biggest earthquake in Namibia was measured about three years ago and it measured up to 4.5 on the Richter scale about 58 km south of Khorixas. That one was confirmed by the then permanent secretary in the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Joseph Iita, who also confirmed an aftershock that measured 3.8 on the Richter scale. Both tremors caused no damage, injuries or fatalities. For the one in the early hours of yesterday around Windhoek, no one could be reached at the Geological Survey of Namibia to confirm it or the measurement. However, it happened almost a year after a 4.5 magnitude tremor was experienced 15 kilometres south of Windhoek. Last year the Geological Survey of Namibia said since Windhoek is situated on a seismically active area, these tremors could occur regularly. If a tremor is felt by people but there is no damage, it cannot be classified as an earthquake. An earthquake is further distinguished from a tremor if it measures ‘4 and above’ on the Richter scale. Namibia is not regarded as a country prone to devastating earthquakes as a result of its geological location. - See more at: namibian.na/indexx.php?id=16967&page_type=story_detail&category_id=1#sthash.XRhxpW6E.dpuf
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 15:31:07 +0000
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