Niël Terblanché
ONE of the strongest earthquakes to have ever been detected in Namibia occurred during the early hours of Sunday morning and was felt by people as far away as Henties Bay.
The earthquake that had its epicentre near Erwee about 97 kilometres to the northwest of Khorixas occurred at about 03:41 was one of the most intense ever felt in Namibia.
The tremor was strong enough to move huge rocks. At least one such rock was shaken loose from the cliffs in the mountains near Anker. The rock rolled down a mountain leaving deep scars in the earth while knocking other rocks out of its way.
Local residents made a video clip of the rock that is currently balanced precariously in the earth and were amazed by its sheer size.
A resident of Henties bay was awoken by the shaking and the sound that accompanied the tremor. The loud noise likened to a tipper truck dumping a load of crusher stone in the street. Afterwards, the woman discovered that a crack had appeared in the tiles on her floor.
A farmer near Kamanjab said the quake was accompanied by a deep rumbling sound and that several aftershocks rattled his house for at least half an hour after the initial quake.
The Deputy Executive Director: Geological Survey at the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Gloria Simubali confirmed that the initial tremor had a magnitude of 5.6 on the Richter scale.
According to Simubali, the earthquake had its epicentre about four kilometres to the southwest of Erwee and that it occurred on a depth of between 10 and 15 kilometres in the crust of the Earth.
“The event was recorded by seven seismic stations of the Namibian Seismology Network. The tremor was detected by stations in Katima Mulilo, Rundu, Aus, Windhoek, Kamanajab, Opuwo, and Karibib in Namibia,” Simubali said in a statement.
According to Simubali, seven significant aftershocks were detected and that these events ranged in magnitude from 2.3 and 3.6 on the Richter scale.
Simubali said that the data of more aftershocks are still being analysed.
The quake was also detected by South Africa’s Council for Geosciences.
No serious damage to property or injuries to people were reported in the wake of the earthquake.
