Fears that the Southern coast of Africa could have been affected by a Magnitude 5 earthquake that occurred yesterday proved to be unfounded.
The earthquake took place 2 130 km south of South Africa between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth yesterday morning shortly before 6 AM.
It is estimated that the seismic activity took place about 10 km beneath sea level.
Seismologists indicate the size of an earthquake in units of magnitude. Earthquake magnitude is a measurement of earthquake size.
This means that at the same distance from the earthquake, the shaking will be 10 times as large during a magnitude 5 earthquake as during a magnitude 4 earthquake.
Fortunately the earthquake did not seem to affect the South African coast at all.
According to the Geological Society of South Africa, these incidents are not uncommon.
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