Image: IRIS (Click on image for larger view.)
Are you prepared for a large strong earthquake in South Africa?
A moderate earthquake struck western South Africa early on Sunday, with tremors reported across several regions.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the magnitude 5.3 quake occurred at 02:51 local time, 101km west of Brandvlei, a small town in the Northern Cape Province.
The earthquake’s epicenter was 30.45 degrees south latitude and 19.44 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 10km.
There have been no official reports of casualties or property damage so far.
Local authorities are expected to conduct further assessments in the affected areas.
Image: Volcano Discovery.com (Click on image for larger view.)
Event summary
This earthquake can have a low humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.
| GDACS ID | EQ 1458807 | |||||
| Earthquake Magnitude: | 5.3M | |||||
| Depth: | 10 Km | |||||
| Lat/Lon: | -30.445 , 19.4352 | |||||
| Event Date: | 22 Dec 2024 00:51 UTC 22 Dec 2024 02:51 Local | |||||
| Exposed Population: | 2 thousand in MMI&>=V | |||||
| Inserted at: | 22 Dec 2024 01:08 UTC | |||||
INFORM Coping capacity: | 4.3 (South Africa) |
More information, maps and data available HERE
Image: Ham Radio Dashboard (Click on image for larger view.)
Amateur Radio Software notify the administrator of the ZS Link Network Blog, Mossel Bay, South Africa of this earthquake
This earthquake was also felt in Mossel Bay. As I did not feel the earthquake at the time of its occurrence I picked up on the event via Ham Radio Dashboard which is installed on my computer and comes up at startup. I immediately noticed the red circle over Southern Africa. (See first image and click on it to enlarge) This notification set the ball rolling and I soon found more data on the earthquake.
To my fellow radio amateurs HERE is more information on Ham Radio Dashboard should you like to use it on your computer. As can be seen from the image above various windows can be displayed at the same time and by double clicking on a window it will open as a large image to view the information close-up.
Thus far no reports of serious damage or injuries. We are not "Profits of Doom" but we were/are due for a large earthquake. The last damaging earthquake occurred in Tulbagh in 1969. The 1969 Tulbagh earthquake occurred at 20:03:33 UTC on 29 September. It had a magnitude of 6.3 Mw and a maximum felt intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. It caused widespread damage in the towns of Ceres, Tulbagh and Wolseley and led to 12 deaths.
We as radio amateurs should be prepared for any eventuality. One never knows when a disaster can happen that needs our services.
