SOUTH AFRICA, (NN1)���A 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit central South Africa on Tuesday, shaking buildings in the financial capital of Johannesburg.
The US Geological Survey said the tremor was centred in Orkney, 120 kilometres south-west of Johannesburg, an area with a high concentration of deep gold mines.
Officials at AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Gold Fields and Sibanye Gold said they had felt the tremors in their headquarters but had so far received no reports of anything untoward in their mines.
The area round Johannesburg and to its south is home to some of the deepest gold mines in the world.

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SOURCE: 2 http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2014/08/05/magnitude-5.3-earthquake-shakes-central-south-africa-rocks-joburg-buildings

What! Oma ga O°˚. God help us.

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Magnitude 5.3 earthquake shakes central South Africa, rocks Joburg buildings


See how South Africa press Report to the quake

The earthquake, which struck just before 12:30 was felt from the Free State, to KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, North West and Mpumalanga.
The US Geological Survey said the tremor was centred in Orkney, 120 km southwest of Johannesburg, an area with a high concentration of gold mines.
Emergency services across the country were being put on high alert in all metropolitans amid fears of serious injuries after the quake struck apparently near the mining town of Orkney.
TimesLive readers took to Facebook to share their experiences, spanning Johannesburg and Soweto to Centurion and Pretoria, Midrand, Marabastad, Bloemfontein and Upington, and even Durban.
“All the windows of my house are broken because of it,” said Sello Makaveli Naphtally Morudu from Botswana.
Nyiko Nicolaus Mkari wrote, “It just happened in Soshanguve. I was in the library and I saw the whole building shaking. I was almost dead. Thank God!”
“I was just relaxing on my bed and I heard it shaking. I was so scared,” wrote Solly Mayala Gumede from Olifantsfontein.
Lesego Sylvia Mabe said from the Centurion Lake, “I'm on the first floor and felt a terrible shake as if the floor was collapsing”.
Vivian Pitschlitz in Ferndale, Randburg, said “the entire office building felt like it was rocking”.
“At Welkom it was heavy,” reported Sipho Neff Jwili while Kgothatso Mama'lee Phiri from Pretoria central wrote, “I got goose bumps”.
Iris Allen commented, “We felt it quite strongly in Potchefstroom. Took me totally by surprise - did not know we got them here!”
Jeanette Bergoff on the East Rand was overwhelmed, saying: “My chair was shaking and I could feel it through the soles of my shoes. I felt quite ill as it was happening. Pictures shaking on the walls, cupboard doors opening and closing. Quite bizarre. I literally felt the roof rattling as well. I have never experienced anything like this”.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2014/08/05/magnitude-5.3-earthquake-shakes-central-south-africa-rocks-joburg-buildings

The Bible said and I quote "when these things happens, know that the end is nigh".....Am under the shadow of the Almighty!!!

UPDATE: minute to Minute Coverage By News 24

One fatality so far in#Orkney when a wall collapsed on a man.#earthquake#tremor#southafrica@ER24Potch now assisting at several mines.
— ER24 EMS (Pty) Ltd ® (@ER24EMS)August 5, 2014
13:51 - Council of Geosciences geologist Michelle Grobbelaar has confirmed the magnitude of the earthquake in the KOSH (Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein, Hartebeesfontein) region as 5.5.
13:42 - AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Gold Fields and Sibanye Gold have felt tremors in their headquarters but has so far not reported anything untoward in their mines.
Read more here
13:40 - The situation in Orkney is under control though, says the local EMS spokesperson Tommy Deysel.
13:40 - A house has collapsed in Orkney as well.
13:37 -
Reports of people trapped in a collapsed building. Orkney EMS's Tommy Deysel says another building has been evacuated.
A school in the area was also damaged.
13:35 - No reports yet of injuries but there are reports of buildings collapsing and a team has been sent down to a mine shaft in North West to check on mineworkers.
13:32
our disaster management system we are busy building shows the earth quake originated from orkney under a mine#tremorpic.twitter.com/bTIgdTFKNh
— Johann Combrink (@cyclone321)August 5, 2014
13:28 -
We're now seeing reports that the quake has caused buildings to collapse in Orkney. Emergency services are on their way.
Did you feel the tremor in your area? Tell us where. Have you heard of anybody injured? UploadPHOTOS, uploadSTORIES, orE-MAIL.
13:25 -
AngloGold Ashanti says it has sent a team down its shafts to check on its teams.
Meanwhile, we got this mail from a user:
Hi from the Airport We felt the earthquake here. There were two distinct shock waves and the earth rumbled the whole time between these two shockwaves or shakes.
After the second shockwave everyone was evacuated!
I called my wife, we stay about 5km away as the bird flies, and they have one constant shockwave for the entire time!
Regards Martin De Villiers
13:23
Spare a thought for the men& women working in the depths of the earth in SA's mines, in the dark, in an#earthquake.#realimpact
— Dinesh Balliah (@DineshBalliah)August 5, 2014
13:20 - A News24 user also claims they felt it in Durban. Anyone else out that side who felt it?
13:17 -
See a map of where our users felt the tremor:
13:16
Wow 5.3 on#richterscale felt throughout the country& registered by#USGS Earthquake Hazard Centre in#USApic.twitter.com/4FS5jDrKsi
— Karin Human (@karin_human)August 5, 2014
13:14 - "We live in Malanshof, Randburg and we felt it very bad, I said to my husband, that for all the years of my life, living in Gauteng, I have never experienced (a quake) so powerful. Really got scared, our ceiling fans was shaking!" - News24 user H Vermeulen
13:12 - The quake was also felt in the last hour in areas including Kempton Park, Glenhazel, Melviille, Sandton, Pretoria, Fourways, Krugersdorp.
13:09 - A News24 user claims they even felt tremors in the southern suburbs of Cape Town. Not sure about that. Didn't feel anything at my office in the CBD. But you never know.
13:07 -Did you feel the tremor in your area? Tell us where. Have you heard of anybody injured? UploadPHOTOS, uploadSTORIES, orE-MAIL.
13:06 - It's understood that the epicentre is 6 kilometres east of Orkney in the North West province at a depth of 10 kilometres.
13:05 - Getting tweets from people saying the tremor was felt in Secunda, Pretoria and even Botswana.
12:59 -
The quake was felt quite widely, the Council for Geoscience’s Michelle Grobbelaar told News24.
Grobbelaar said initial reports show that the epicenter of the quake was in the Klerksdorp mining area.
12:58 -
According to a Reuters report, it was a 5.3 magnitude earthquake, shaking buildings in Johannesburg.
The US Geological Survey said the tremor was centred in Orkney, 120km southwest of Johannesburg, an area with a high concentration of gold mines.
12:57
Anybody else feel that#Johannesburg tremor just now? Set the cat among the pigeons in the@eNCAnews newsroom, I say
— Nickolaus Bauer (@NICKolausBAUER)August 5, 2014
12:56
Please tell me I wasn't the only one to feel that tremor that just shook my house in Joburg. My Mac is still shaking.
— Gus Silber (@gussilber)August 5, 2014
12:56 -
Johannesburg - An earth tremor was felt in Johannesburg and other parts of the country shortly after midday on Tuesday, according to reports.
A number of Twitter users took to the social network to share their experiences of the tremor.Reports indicated the tremor was felt in other parts of the country, as far afield as Bloemfontein and Durban.
According to a tweet, the tremor measured 5.3 on the Richter scale.