An earthquake with its epicentre in the Northern Cape, shook Cape Town during the early hours on Sunday.
Over 200 people in Cape Town recorded their experiences in an online “Did you feel it” survey on the United States Geological Survey web page.
The 5.3 magnitude earthquake occurred 101km west of Brandvlei, a small town in the Northern Cape.
In a statement, the Council for Geoscience confirmed the earthquake: “The preliminary results show that the earthquake and aftershock registered local magnitudes of approximately 5.3 and 2.9, respectively, as recorded by the South African Seismograph Network.”
Eerste River mom, Michelle Linnert, 45, says she got a moerse skrik when she woke up feeling her bed moving.
Linnert says: “It was between 2am and 3am and I felt me bed moving voorentoe en agter toe. First, I thought that my husband wanted to do something in the middle of the night, but then I saw he was sleeping.
“I heard the chandeliers make a sound and I was so bang, I didn’t know if there was a spook or a goose in the house.
“I heard the dogs barking frantically and realised it must have been something outside. I woke my husband up, but he didn’t feel the bed moving.”
Linnert says she woke up the next morning confused and questioned her husband.
She adds: “I asked him do you remember I woke you up? I was questioning my own sanity and then after he did some research, we realised what it was. It was scary.”
Independent geologist Dr Gideon Groenewald says the epicentre was 10km underground.
He said the intensity was 5.5 on the Richter Scale or about 150 times stronger than a normal thunder clap. He added that no damage was recorded.
Groenewald says: “The earth movement is highly significant because it follows a similar event at Springbok a week ago.
“This might be some indication of earth movement in a very old fault zone in Namaqualand, which is interesting.”
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za