Some parts of Ghana’s capital, Accra, experienced a moderate earth tremor today December 12, between 10:00 am and 11:55 am respectively, in the space of some few seconds.
Areas which experienced the earth tremor includes East Legon, Lapaz, Adabraka, Gbawe, Kokomlemle, McCarthy hill, Mallam, Madina, and Kwabenya, among others.
According to the Andriod Earthquake Alerts Systems, the seismic movement reached magnitude 4.0 which makes it one of the strongest earthquake in Ghana.
The tremors have triggered a lot of reactions from Ghanaians on social media. Barely an hour after the earth tremors in some parts of the Greater Accra Region, some social media users took to timelines to share their experiences.
Trending at number one on Twitter, some tweeter users are still in shock while others sought to confirm if what they felt isn’t peculiar to them. Some residents of the affected areas noted that they felt the movement and were panicked.
Some Past Experiences
Prior to this, the Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA) had warned that the series of tremor occurrences in parts of the Greater Accra Region over the years is signal of a looming earthquake of greater magnitude in the future.
On March 24, 2018, a similar earth tremor that measured 4.0 on the Richter scale was recorded in Accra. On December 9, 2018, another one was experienced in Accra.
Ghana is said to have a major earthquake fault line stretching from the McCarthy Hill area in Accra westwards towards the Central Region and eastwards towards the Akuapim Ridge all the way to the Volta Region in the east. The epicentre of the fault line is thought to be located around the McCarthy-Weija Dam catchment area in Accra.
Since 1615 and 1939 when Ghana experienced its severest earthquake with a magnitude of over 6.0 on the Richter scale, there have been reported yearly occurrences of fleeting earth tremors.
According to the GGSA, signs picked up after earth tremors hit parts of Accra on March 24, 2018, showed that the fault lines were active, which meant that an earthquake could occur at any time. On January 12, 2006, a tremor measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale hit parts of the capital, according to the Geological Survey Department.
There was a similar tremor measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale in May 2003.
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