Tremor through large area in Mpumalanga Province,South Africa

I would especially like to find out if any South African members felt this,around 7 minutes to 5pm local time? I was sitting in my garden in Mpumalanga Province,when i felt a tremor like a vibration underground,which lasted for about 20 seconds,maybe 30.I heard my hubby and son outside a minute or 2 later-my husband said it could be heard all the way to the roof,like a rattle.

Where i was sitting,with one foot on a rock,i felt the rock start to vibrate,and then realised it was the ground beneath,all over.

Thing is,my best friend in the town outside which we live,said her daughter felt it too-but her daughter's +- 250 clix away in Steelpoort.My husband saw on FB that it was felt in White River,+- 80 clix.That's a large area.

None of our animals acted weird before,and this is geologically a very stable region.

Anyone on here have an idea what that could have been?Or felt it,local members?
Thank you,have a good day,all.

reply to post by Raxoxane

M4.7 - 50km W of Barberton, South Africa 2013-07-07 14:52:14 UTC

Hope this helps.

Stay safe!

reply to post by Raxoxane

As the member above me says, it was a mag 4.7 earthquake.

Here's a screenshot of the data page from USGS:


You can access the above page at USGS here.

While this was not a strong quake by any means it was very shallow, at only 5 km. Depending on the regional topography and geology, even smallish quakes like this one can be felt over quite large areas. For example, quakes of a given magnitude tend to be felt over much larger regions in the central part of the US than they are on the other side of the Rockies (eg in California).

Here's the "Felt Map" from USGS for your quake:


It's available at the USGS page here

If you wish, go to the above page and where it has "Did you feel it?" at the top, click on the "Tell us!" link and put in a "felt report". These reports are very useful to scientists, because they help them to determine the extent of felt shaking from quakes and this can aid in their understanding of the regional geology and seismology. It's especially useful if they need to advise authorities on safety measures and building standards.

EDIT: just wanted to add that while Southern Africa is geologically pretty stable, it gets its share of quakes, though rarely anything major. Here's a USGS Seismicity Map of the region that gives you some idea of where they are most common and what sorts of magnitudes there have been in the past 100 years or so.

reply to post by donlashway

Thanks donlashway,my 1st thought was that it may have been caused by a catastrophic collapse underground at the goldmine which we live close to,even though they only operate on full shift during weekdays,there still would have been +-100 workers underground-so that could have been a very bad scenario indeed.First time we felt any tremors in this region in the 9 years we've been staying here

reply to post by JustMike

Hi Mike thanks for the info,this is my 2nd attempt at reply,i see tonight is a "408" night again


www.stormchasing.co.za...

I have a memory of this eq that hit the Wolseley-Tulbagh-Ceres region when i was 4yo.I have a memory of my mother scooping me up in the night and running outside with me.That was a mean one-i had a longtime boyfriend in my teens, who lived in Ceres at the time,he was 7yo then,He recalls it as chaotic+terrifying.My adoptive mother was born and raised in Wolseley.We felt that eq strongly even in Bellville though.