Hundreds of KZN residents had the fright of their lives on Thursday afternoon after experiencing a mild earth tremor. Many took to Twitter to express their shock and to find out if others felt it, and within minutes, #earthquake and #tremor started trending.

Initially, it was unclear how widespread the tremor was but information from The United States Geological Survey (USGS)  indicates that it was felt from Margate to Stanger and in some areas in the midlands, with the epicenter located 44km north west of Port Shepstone.

Community internet intensity map of an earth tremor that left hundreds shaken in KZN. Image: USGS

It seems like the tremor was felt mostly by those close to the coast, particularly in Durban and the South Coast. A few people from the Midlands (PMB, Ixopo, etc) also reported experiencing the tremor, which occurred around 13:20 and was felt by one of our staff members in Durban South. However, this may be more a reflection of internet connectivity in the province than the intensity of the tremor.

It was suspected that the tremor was an aftershock of a strong earthquake (6.5 magnitude) which hit southern Philippines on Thursday morning. However, according to geologists the two events were not linked.

The USGS put the magnitude of the tremor at 4.3 whereas the South African Council for Geoscience recorded it at 3.7.  Although this is relatively mild, some South Africans found it terrifying due to the infrequency of tremors and earthquakes in the country.

Below are some of the Twitter reactions to the tremor:

Did anyone else in Durban feel that tremor right now???

— KING K 👑 (@_KingKarabo) October 31, 2019

😟😟😟guys we just experienced a tremor in Durban 😭😭😭 God please help us, let it not come back😭😭🙏

— Zulu woman with some power (@MaXulu_Mkhize) October 31, 2019

Guys, those in Durban, did anyone experience a tremor a few minutes ago? I almost choked on my food #MzansiScaryStories pic.twitter.com/qxQWQ2Pl4Z

— Coffee Addict (@Punchu_Pie) October 31, 2019

Uhm hello Durban did anyone feel an earthquake tremor or am I going crazy

— TheReal1🧬 (@therealammarah) October 31, 2019

We’ve just had a few seconds earthquake tremor in Hillcrest, Durban. Very scary

— Dr Makhosi Khoza (@Dr_MakhosiKhoza) October 31, 2019

#tremor yooh guys I’m still shook💀 how widespread was this tremor? I’m in Mlazi.

— samk.ey (@samk_ey) October 31, 2019

 

If you’re in SA and just felt a #tremor, drop your location below 👇🏽 so we can see how widespread it was.

— Sooth Sayer (@CryptoArn) October 31, 2019