List of earthquakes in South Africa

The following is a list of notable earthquakes or tremors that have been detected within South Africa.

According to Professor Andrzej Kijko from the University of Pretoria's Natural Hazard Centre, mining can activate natural faults. He believes that 95% of South Africa's earthquakes are caused by mining, especially around the areas of Klerksdorp, Welkom and Carletonville. According to earth science consultant Dr Chris Hartnady, "This part of Africa is in the vicinity of the African Rift system, which is being pulled apart by a few millimetres annually." He says "earthquakes are caused by a slip on a fault line and the release of stored elastic energy" and mining activity can trigger earthquakes.

Earthquake data For earthquakes prior to the modern era, the magnitude and epicentre location are only approximate, and were calculated based on available reports from the time.

1800s DateTime (SAST)EpicentreRegionDepthDeathsNotes1809-12-0422:00+ Cape TownCape Colony?

1900s DateTime (SAST)EpicentreRegionDepthDeathsNotes1912-02-2015:03:0628.633°S 27.846°E,28km N of MaputsoeFree State6.1?1919-10-3117:36:4027.359°S 30.521°E,38km S of DriefonteinTransvaal6.3?1932-12-3108:30:5629.313°S 33.117°E,120 km ESE of Richards BayNatal6.8? the strongest earthquake near South Africa since 1900.1969-09-2922:03:3033.268°S 19.386°E,near Tulbagh, 13km NNE of CeresCape Province6.36.312 The 1969 Tulbagh earthquake remains the most destructive earthquake in South African history. It was stronger than that of the 1809 Cape Town earthquake which destroyed a local Milnerton farm.1970-04-14 Tulbagh-Ceres-Wolseley area Cape Province5.7 Second quake1976-12-08WelkomFree State5.24 Miners.1990-09-26WelkomFree State4.22

2000s DateTime (SAST)Epicentre RegionDepthDeathsNotes 9 March 2005 Stilfontein,North West 5.3 2 Miners were killed underground. 28 May 2013 Near Mbabane Eswatini 4.0 The earthquake was felt in Newcastle and lasted about six seconds. 22 June 2013 07:08 ThabazimbiLimpopo 3.9 9 km The earthquake was felt up in the Thabazimbi area. 7 July 2013 16:52 BarbertonMpumalanga 4.7 5 km The earthquake was felt in the Barberton area. 11 November 2013 University of Johannesburg, JohannesburgGauteng 4.0 The earthquake was felt as far as parts of northern and southern Johannesburg and lasted for around 10–15 seconds. 2 December 2013 21:18 ~25 km south of Bela-Bela Limpopo 4.8 5 km The earthquake was felt as far as Parkhurst and Randburg in Johannesburg, Hartebeespoort Dam in North West, Witbank and KwaMhlanga in Mpumalanga, and Soshanguve near Pretoria. 15 June 2014 18:16 Near OrkneyNorth West 4.9 5 km The earthquake was felt up to Potchefstroom. 5 August 2014 12:22 Near OrkneyNorth West 5.5 5.0 km The earthquake was felt as far as parts of Botswana and Durban, it lasted for around 90 sec. The local Council for Geoscience measured the earthquake at 5.5 on the Richter scale, while the United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a moment magnitude of 5.4. 22 August 2014 1:14 Near Orange FarmGauteng 3.8 10 km The second earthquake in South Africa in less than three weeks. No reports of injuries. The Council for Geoscience (CGS) in South Africa reported an earthquake of 3.8 with two aftershocks occurring within minutes of each other of 3.2 and 2.0 respectively. 31 October 2019 13:20 Near Port ShepstoneKwaZulu-Natal 4.3 10 km The CGS reported an earthquake of a preliminary value of 3.7 on the local magnitude scale. However, the USGS has it logged as 4.326 September 202019:101600 km SE of South Africa Western Cape6.110 km USGS report. Mistakenly reported to have been felt in Cape Town. See below earthquake.26 September 202020:4112 km W of Paarl Western Cape2.75 kmFelt by residents in Cape Town area. CGS report. USGS report. 27 September 202009:12Durbanville Area, Cape Town Western Cape2.65 kmFelt by residents in Cape Town area. CGS report. USGS report.17 November 202000:2741 km S of Saldanha Western Cape3.55 kmFelt by residents in Cape Town area. CGS report. USGS report.30 July 202106:30JohannesburgGauteng3.610 kmFelt by residents in Johannesburg. CGS report. USGS report.5 November 202214:3223 km from Umvoti Local MunicipalityKwaZulu-Natal4.69 kmFelt by residents in Durban area.11 June 202302:382 kilometers from Alberton.Gauteng5.010 kmFelt by residents across the city of Johannesburg and the region as a whole.22 December 202402:51284 kilometers SW of Upington.Northern Cape5.310 kmFelt as far away as Namibia and Cape Town. 2 aftershocks: 3.0 and 3.4 .

List of earthquakes in South Africa

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