48 Tremors In Abuja Not Life Threatening — NGSA

The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) has dismissed fears by residents of Mpape and Katampe in Abuja over recent reports of tremors and vibrations in the federal capital.

The Director-General of NGSA, Olusegun Ige, in a statement on Wednesday, said the agency’s investigation showed that over 48 tremors were recorded.

However, the agency said the tremors were found to be non-threatening to humans and properties.

The seismic tremors, often small earthquakes or vibrations in the earth’s surfaces, were reported by residents in a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter over the weekend.

Confirming this, the NGSA said its monitoring station (NGSA-5) at Katampe between Friday and Tuesday recorded over 48 tremor occurrences less than 5km away from the monitoring station.

The geological agency said the intensity and frequency of the tremors increased from 13 to 16 September with multiple epicentres identified around the Mpape and Katampe axes.

“The monitoring station (NGSA-5) at Katampe has been capturing several significant ground motions with high moment magnitudes (Mw) in the past five days, beginning from 13 September 2024 till date.

“Only one mild event was recorded on 13 September. Six of these events were captured on the 14th of September, while over 21 events were captured on the 15th with higher intensities. More than twenty events were recorded on the 16th of September.

“The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from the 13th to the 16th of September. There are a few weak events recorded today, 17th September”.

Relaying factors responsible for the consistent four days occurrence, NGSA said “The tremors are a result of accumulated stress along the identified faults and released seismic energy, which may have travelled through associated fractures to areas where the tremors were felt around the FCT”.

The statement added “There are multiple epicentres associated with the recent tremor. Most of the epicentres are located northeast of the NGSA-5 Seismic Station around the Mpape axis, while a few are located southwest of the station around the Katampe axis.

“The intensities of the tremors are weak to light, ranging from III-IV on the Modified Mercalli Scale, and pose a very low-level threat.“The residents of Mpape, Katampe, Maitama, and other areas where the tremors were felt are advised not to panic as the tremors can be generally described as low.”

The agency said it is keeping a close monitoring of the situation and will provide updates as may become necessary, adding that the general public should be aware that the NGSA seismic stations are being monitored in real-time to ensure prompt alerts on any major event.

48 Tremors In Abuja Not Life Threatening — NGSA is first published on The Whistler Newspaper