S.Africa: Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake hits Johannesburg – some damage in the East

(000228.79-:E-000157.73:N-:R-SU:C-30:V)   

[Can you believe I actually felt this little quake very clearly. I was up late at night, and I was in my kitchen boiling some water to make tea. Then I heard, very faintly, some kind of rumbling, but what was creepy was how I heard my ceiling and wall "creaking". I immediately stood totally still focusing on it, and then suddenly it "passed" by. It was not enough to move objects. But I could sense that something weird was happening. I felt very uncomfortable and immediately opened the door and walked outside into the cold night. I live near a vlei (marsh), and there are lots of birds that sleep all around the suburb and the marsh at night. As I walked outside, I heard all the birds in all directions squawking a lot and flying. They too sensed this. They made quite a racket for the next 5 minutes or so. The whole event lasted a very short time. It lasted maybe a second or two or was even shorter. But it was quite weird. Long ago when I first moved to Johannesburg 40 years ago, we felt movement OFTEN due to blasting from the mining underground. But these days there is no mining so we are not used to this. Several years ago, there was also a similar tremor to this, but it was much more distinct than this one. I could "hear" something coming. It was also quiet like now and I could sense it. I "heard" something coming, and I could sense the shockwave as it passed by at a hell of a speed. It is hard to describe. That was much more distinct and for me quite freaky. This is nothing like the real quakes that happen in America, etc. Our stuff is tiny. It turns out that the quake from the morning of 11th May, actually damaged some houses in the east, which is about 50 Km or so away. It seems to have been caused by a collapse in one of these old mines. Johannesburg is sitting on top of an area that has been massively mined. I had an uncle who was a miner here. And he said, we'd be shocked if we knew how much empty space is underneath us! So what I experienced yesterday was mild compared to what other people experienced. I doubt it even woke anyone up. I only noticed it because I was awake. Jan]

Here’s the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcbevOxTy1Y

---

---

---