Injuries and damage after quake rocks South Africa
An earthquake measuring five on the Richter scale shook parts of South Africa today and caused injuries and damage south west of Johannesburg.
The quake was centred near Klerksdorp, 125 miles from Johannesburg, where the emergency services said it had reports of one minor injury and damage to houses and apartment buildings in nearby Stilfontein.
Mesh Letanta, a spokesman for Klerksdorp Emergency Services, said one apartment block housing elderly people was severely damaged and had to evacuated.
“It is no longer fit for human habitation,” he said.
Two high schools in the town also were evacuated after the quake caused cracks in some of the walls, he said.
Nearby mines also began evacuating workers from the shafts as several aftershocks shook the area.
A radio station reported that about 30 people had sought medical attention after being hit by falling debris or suffering stress-related ailments.
The largest earthquake in South Africa hit in the Western Cape in 1969 and had a magnitude of 6.1. A quake of magnitude 5 can cause considerable damage.
