Parts of South Africa were literally shaken into a state of panic when an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale struck Orkney in the North West Province.
Social media sites were abuzz with users citing their experience, some of them six hundred kilometres apart from each other.
South Africa is not accustomed to earthquakes, we do however experience tremors from time to time, but none of them causing any real damage or making national news.
At 12:20 on Tuesday August 5, 2014, South Africans experienced what is believed to have been the second largest earthquake in 45 years. The Ceres earthquake in 1969 is reported to be the most destructive earthquake in South African history. It occurred on 29 September 1969 in the Ceres / Tulbagh area and registered 6.3 on the Richter scale.
It is reported that Tuesday’s earthquake was felt as far as Botswana, Cape Town and Durban and lasted for approximately 90 seconds. Offices were evacuated in Durban and Johannesburg.
An Orkney man in his thirties was killed after a wall collapsed on him. Thirty-four workers at AngloGold Ashanti’s Vaal river operations were treated for minor injuries and released from hospital. Three people in a training center at the gold mine also sustained injuries.
Paramedics on Tuesday confirmed no miners were trapped in mines around Orkney in the North West following an earthquake that shook the region.
ER24 officials who had been sent to one mine following reports that some miners were trapped in 11 shafts were standing down, said spokeswoman Luyanda Majija. “There are no entrapments. Most miners working in various mines have been brought out,” Majija said.” Most shafts have been evacuated. ”Around 2.30pm, only one person had been confirmed dead.
“A 31-year-old man was found deceased in an old mining village,” Majija said. “He was found lying under some debris. “The incident occurred close to the epicentre of the earthquake, recorded at a magnitude of 5.5 by the Council for Geosciences in SA.
An aftershock frightened the population of Orkney later that afternoon. No specific Magnitude was been given.
Earthquake? Stay calm. Here’s how…
Emergency Services always face a challenge with such an incident. When panic sets in, emergency contact centres should be prepared to handle more than normal the volume of emergency calls.
On top of this, emergency services have to combine resources to ensure that they are ready for a possible influx of emergency calls. Questions that must be asked include: ‘What infrastructure has been damaged’ ‘Will emergency resources be able to reach affected people’
What should you do during an earthquake?
- Stay calm.
- Try and stay where you are. Use large and sturdy objects such as a big desk to crawl under. If you are in a building, try and stand with your back against the wall near the centre of the building. You should try and stay away from windows and outside doors.
- Should you be outside at the time of an earthquake, look around you. Ensure you are clear from power cables or anything overhead that might fall on you. Do not stand near or against a building, debris might fall on top of you.
- Use the stairs to evacuate premises (only when it is safe to do so)
What should you do after an earthquake?
- Establish if you have sustained any injuries. Check around you and try to see if anyone else sustained any injuries. If you can provide first aid, proceed to do so.
- Call Emergency Medical Services for medical assistance if someone sustained an injury.
- If the building you are in sustained structural damage, even if you are unsure, evacuated calmly and quickly. (If possible)
- Try and listen to your local radio station for emergency or news updates.
- Do not enter any damaged buildings or areas.
- There might be debris lying around. Be very careful around broken glass and other items that can cause you harm. Do not take off your shoes.
- Stay away from beaches until the area has been announced as safe.
- If the area you are in has an evacuation or emergency plan, try and follow it.
- Expect aftershocks.