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Tag: tremor

  • Tremor sends fear, panic to Abuja residents

    Tremor sends fear, panic to Abuja residents

    Despite being assured of their safety by the Federal Government, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) residents have continued to express worry over earth tremors in their neighborhoods for five days. 

    They told The Nation yesterday that they feared that a disaster could happen in the nation’s capital because of the intensity of the tremors. 

    The residents said the ground motions they experienced between last Friday and Tuesday were by far different from quarry or rock blasting they were used to.

    The government, through the  Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), said the residents should not entertain fear because the tremors were low and, therefore, posed no threats to them and the environment.

    Deputy- Director of Solid Minerals, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Ulom  Ifop, however, advised the residents to brace for more tremors.

    NGSA,  in a statement by its  Director-General, Prof. Olusegun Ige, said its monitoring station captured 49 tremors that posed no threats between September 13  and  17.

    Ige added that an NGSA team visited and interacted with residents of three highbrow areas of the FCT– Mpape, Katampe, and  Maitama—where the tremors occurred. 

    His statement reads:  “ 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 September 13, 2024, till date.

    “Only one mild event was recorded on September 13th. 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.

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    “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 on  17th September.

    “Preliminary analysis of the waveforms showed that the sources of the ground motions are less than five kilometres  away from the monitoring station.

    “The tremors are a result of accumulated stress along the identified faults and released seismic energy, which may have traveled through associated fractures to areas where the tremors were felt around the FCT.

    “There are multiple epicentres associated with the recent tremors. 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 is keeping a close monitoring of the situation and will provide updates as may become necessary.”

    The agency advised the public to also be aware that the NGSA Seismic Stations are being monitored in real-time to ensure prompt alerts on any major event.

    An official of the FCT Administration (FCTA) Emergency Management Department, Martin Nyam, also said there was no cause for alarm by the residents.  

     Nyam, who heads the  Reporting, Forecasting and Mitigation of the FCTA,  said: “Nigeria is not a disaster-prone area.  This one is just a mild disturbance.   The government is going to look at possible solutions. The tremors could not have been caused by quarry activities and sinking of boreholes.’’

    But residents, who spoke with The Nation, said their experiences were not palatable.

    They stated that, unlike rock blasting in some parts of the FCT, the tremors shook the foundations of houses in their neighborhood.

     Dr. Ebenezer Adebisi, chairman, Association of LandLords in Mpape, said:“What we have experienced so far is a serious vibration that suggests an earth tremor.  I think this is more than the issue of blasting or quarry activities because even when these people are not blasting in the nights, there are vibrations here and there.

  • Why there was tremor in Abuja, by presidential panel

    MULTIPLE boreholes and the daily extraction of 330,000 metric tonnes of water have been blamed for the tremor that shook some parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between September 5 and 8, the panel mandated to look into the matter has said in its report.

    The Presidential Committee also predicted the possibility of more tremors in the country unless the indiscriminate sinking of boreholes was controlled.

    Relying on the results obtained, using the probability of recurrence theory, the committee warned that the probability of recurrence in the near future remained “fairly high in Nigeria”.

    Chairman of the committee and National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) Director-General Prof. Seidu Mohammed said that the 110,000 boreholes sunk in Abuja produce 330,000 metric tonnes of water daily.

    Speaking at the submission of the committee’s report to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu in Abuja, Mohammed added that water extraction and recharge imbalance from aquifer was causing hydrogeological instability along the fractures of Abuja.

    The imbalance, he noted, was further caused by about 330,000 metric tonnes of water extracted daily from Abuja boreholes.

    His words: “The latest occurred in September 7th of 2018 in Abuja with Mpape as epicenter. Though these earthquakes may have been of low-magnitudes, it is now certain that earthquake occurrence has become a potential hazard to the nation.

    “The report of the geological, hydrogeological and geotechnical investigations carried out in 1978 by Julius Berger for Abuja identified Mpape as a Shear zone that is weak with several fractures and fault system.

    “Water extraction and recharge imbalance from aquifer is causing hydrogeological instability along the fractures. Currently, there are a 110,000 boreholes within Abuja metropolis with about 330, 000 metric tonnes of water extracted daily. This is not sustainable.

    “In the light of the above, the spots and locations identified and considered as earthquake prone areas in Abuja in particular, and Nigeria in general, need to be further studied and continuously monitored. There is also the need to carry out detailed vulnerability studies of the identified seismic hotspots in Nigeria.

    “Based on the results obtained using the probability of recurrence theory, we confirmed that the probability of recurrence in the very near future is fairly high in Nigeria.

    “There is the need to regulate the exploitation of ground water resources of Abuja Via indiscriminate sinking of boreholes because this has been the primary reason for the stress build up leading to the Abuja tremors of 5th-7th September, 2018.

    “Government should release fund for the training of geophysicist, geologists, engineers, technologists and researchers to participate in earth science research, in order to improve our understanding of Nigerian and West African geophysics and tectonics dynam‘ism. We emphasize that this research has crucial societal ‘value as it is evident in earthquake hazard readiness and mitigation.”

    The minister said the committee would continue its research after the submission. He urged the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) to develop seismic building code that can resist tremors in future.

  • Residents panic as fresh tremor rocks Abuja

    Various parts of Abuja, the nation’s capital city, were seized by earth tremor yesterday, spreading panic among the residents.

    Yesterday’s incident followed similar ones of less magnitude in parts of the city on Wednesday and Thursday.

    At Mpape, highbrow Maitama and other parts of the city, well-heeled citizens flung their gates open as they sped out of their luxury homes.

    “We were really terrified when the earth shook violently. Those of us upstairs ran downstairs only to see those downstairs running upstairs,” said a politician who was at the Maitama home of a senator when the tremor occurred yesterday morning.

    The politician, who pleaded anonymity, said that many home owners around Colorado Street in Maitama sped off to avoid further experience with tremors.

    In Wuse area, Mrs. Florence Yesufu, who said that she and her children had fled from their Mpape home on Thursday night, told one of our correspondents that she and members of her brother’s family who were their hosts had to launch into intense prayer yesterday on learning from an acquaintance on the telephone about the tremor in Maitama.

    But government agencies and notable individuals, including Senate President Bukola Saraki moved in swiftly yesterday to douse tension among the city’s residents.

    “We have all been feeling the earth tremors in Abuja and surrounding areas over the last 48 hours. I know that many people are scared, but please, remain calm and vigilant,” Saraki said in a tweet on his Twitter handle, @bukolasaraki, as citizens recalled the shock they felt.

    The Director General, Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Alex Nwegbu, said the tremor which began on Wednesday was between 3 and 3.5 magnitude on the Modified Mercalli scale, hence it was of low intensity as there were no visible cracks on walls and on the ground.

    He urged members of the public to report any further incidents through NGSA’s emergency numbers 08035956056, 08032154825 and 08037000623.

    Allaying the fears of residents, Nwegbu added that Nigeria will henceforth be able to detect and warn of future quakes because the government had just purchased six earthquake monitoring machines which he said would be distributed to the different geo-political zones in the country.

    Addressing the issue at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, Nwegbu advised Nigerians to leave their houses when such quakes occur because the structure of such buildings could be compromised.

    He said: “Earthquakes are ground movement responding to accumulation of stress, and when the stress becomes higher than the strength of the rock, it ruptures and the presence of rupturing sends waves along the earth crust. That is what results in the vibration which we call earth tremor or earthquake.

    “When we got the report of the tremor in Mpape, we dispatched geologists and geophysicists on a fact-finding mission.

    “The intensity of the tremor is estimated to be between 3 and 3.5 on the Modified Mercalli scale. There were no cracks on the walls or ground, which technically means it was an earth tremor of low intensity.

    “We have conducted airborne magnetic survey of the whole country, and using it, we can establish zones of fractures and weaknesses.

    “Based on the location of Mpape and its environs vis a vis the zones of weakness, you can understand the area has the predisposition of such tremors.

    “But because we experienced the tremor in Mpape does not mean it originated in Mpape; it might have been triggered elsewhere.

    “The present administration has done so much in assisting the agency in collecting geoscience data.

    “We recently acquired six sets of earthquake monitoring equipment. We are presently in the process of deploying them within next month to different zones of the country in Abuja, Kaduna, Yola, Ibadan, Calabar and Awka.

    “When this equipment are deployed, it will give us quick information of where tremor might probably occur to warn people beforehand.”

    Nwegbu said there was absolutely no cause for alarm, adding that Nigeria is not situated at the plate boundary, hence the tendency to have violent earthquakes is very minimal.

    “It is advised that once you start noticing a tremor, you move out of your house, because you can never underestimate how the structure of your house can be compromised. It could collapse.

    “Presently we are collecting more data and this will help us in determining the true cause,” he said.

    Earlier, the FCT Emergency Management Agency had issued a statement calling for calm and outlining steps that citizens should take when such incidents occur.

    “We have been inundated with distress calls in our watch room as a result of earth shaking happening around Mpape and part of Maitama district of the Federal Capital Territory,” the statement said.

    “Whilst appreciating the call from the public, the FCT emergency management agency (FEMA) wish to make the following statements:

    “That the possible cause of the earth shaking might be as a result of earth tremor.

    “That it is a sign of seismic movement within the earth. This is caused by sudden break along a fault line which results in sudden release of energy that makes the ground to shake.

    “It is caused by stress in underground rocks and may be due to rock blasting and mining activities in an area.

    “The residents are to note that there is nothing to panic about as there is no likelihood of any earthquake disaster in Nigeria as we are not in earthquake zone.

    “Therefore, we are urging all residents to calm down and rest assured that the abnormal situation will soon stop.

    The agency further gave out safety tips to be observed during such occurrences to avoid a disaster.

    “Calm and do not panic. If you stay in a building, locate a safe room, drop down and take cover under desk or table and hold tight to it. You should stay away from windows and objects that may fall.

    “If you are outdoor, find a clean spot away from buildings, trees and power lines.

    “If you are in a car, slow down and drive to a clean place. Stay in the car until the shaking stops.”

     

  • Tremor tension

    Tremor tension

    •Kaduna incident is indication that we must build capacity for emergencies

    Naturally, the earth tremors that occurred on two consecutive days in Kaduna State raised questions about the country’s seismological capacity. Although the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) responded with a reassuring statement, the reassurance was not enough.

    The agency referred to “an on-the-spot assessment as well as survey investigation” carried out by the Centre for Geodesy and Geo-dynamics: “The reports have established that the incidents were recorded in Kwoi and surrounding villages of Nok, Sanbah and Chori in Jama’a council on Sunday, September 11 and Monday, September 12. The current findings are outcomes of a preliminary report by the team of experts deployed to the affected communities.”  It also said:  ”The reports showed the time of occurrence and intensities of the locations as reported by residents, which included cracks on building walls, falling off of ceiling fans and other items.”

    While the public anxiously awaits more information on the fear-provoking tremors, which the agency has promised to release “as soon as investigation is completed,” it is curious that the Interim Chairman of Jama’a council, Mr. Ben Kure, was quoted as saying their magnitude was exaggerated.

    No matter how the occurrences are downplayed, perhaps in an effort to douse public tension, it is certainly no exaggeration to observe that they might be a signal to something much more serious and devastating. Thankfully, this time the damage was minimal and there were no fatalities. The reality is that a tremor is a small earthquake, an earthquake of low intensity that might be followed by a full-scale earthquake.

    This concern is particularly significant, considering that it has been noted that Kaduna State is “not on a major fault line or active tectonic plate.” Why the earth tremors occurred in such a supposedly unlikely place, therefore, is a question begging for an answer.

    This is why the relevant bodies should spare no effort in getting to the bottom of the matter, and the relevant authorities should ensure that appropriate measures are put in place for public safety in the event of such potentially life-threatening seismic occurrences.

    Although Nigeria is not located within the world’s major seismic zones, it is noteworthy that the country has its own history of minor seismic events. A report said: “The first widely reported occurrence of an earth tremor in Nigeria was in 1933. Other events were reported in 1939, 1964, 1984, 1990, 1994, 1997, 2000 and 2006…Of these, only the 1984, 1990, 1994 and 2000 events were instrumentally recorded.”  It added: “When these events occurred, there were no functional seismological observatories in Nigeria. However, that has now changed with the establishment of a seismographic network managed by the Centre for Geodesy and Geodynamics (CGG), Toro, Nigeria.”

    The evidence of change in the important area of seismological observation must be evident. It goes without saying that in a scientific age with an advanced scientific capacity, there is no excuse for failure in the area of seismological monitoring.

    It is a cause for concern that, based on studies, experts have warned of “the possibility of experiencing earthquake disaster” in some areas of the country, specifically, Port-Harcourt, Warri, Bayelsa State, Cross River State and Oyo State. Indeed, there have been reported tremors in Oyo, Bayelsa and Rivers states in recent times.

    The bottom line is that the country is exposed to seismic risks and may not be completely seismically safe. What is to be done beyond rigorous observation and monitoring of seismological data must include capacity building for prompt and effective emergency response, just in case Nature strikes.

  • Tremor unsettles Kaduna community

    Tremor unsettles Kaduna community

    Since a rock shook and emitted sounds in Hayin Magina in Ikara Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the residents have been in terror.

    One eyewitness Aminu Na Dare Abubakar said around 10pm on the fateful day, deafening sounds were heard in their community amid serious vibrations of all houses around the rock.

    He said, “People rushed out of their houses when they heard the loud sound. It was the first time we heard such a thing in the community.

    “The vibration by the rock sent fear into the minds of the people. That was why I immediately went to inform the police Divisional Officer (DPO) in the area. The vibration continued for days before it stopped. But it affected majority of the houses located close to the rock as they all have cracks on their walls.

    “The following day, I decided to look round the rock again, that was when I now discovered cracks around the rock base and I noticed some powder-like substances that came out of the rock, obviously during the explosion. Then, I went back to the police to inform them that the sound we earlier heard was from the rock,” he said.

    Similarly, a housewife in one of the houses near the rock, Zainab Abdullahi said they now sleep with one eye open.

    She said, “We are tenants in this house. If it warrants us vacating it  for our safety we are ready to do so because the situation is scary and beyond our powers.

    “The whole thing started around 10pm at night. We were seated in the compound when we heard a loud sound; even the chickens in the building were scared. The well was closed but opened by itself as a result of the loud sound. Our eyes were open till daybreak as we couldn’t sleep out of fear of loud sounds emanating from the rock.

    “It happened like a month before the commencement of the Ramadan fast. It happened for four days.

    “The second time, we experienced it around 4pm. We performed ablutions and were about to say our Asri prayers when it happened. It was as if someone was checking the house. The sound was like that of a gun sound. We saw cracks on the rock.

    “After an interval of say like 10 days, and when we were already thinking that was all, the thing reoccurred. In fact, we were thinking it was someone who was doing something to scare us, only for us to discover it was not so. A man was caught in respect to that but after investigation he was released when we discovered he was innocent.

    “The last time we experienced these was some days to the end of Ramadan fast. But as we speak to you we sleep with one eye closed. In fact, some of our neighbours have vacated the house.”

    Another housewife, Halima Nasiru said, “When people go on top of the rock and you hear the sound, you will think it is child’s play.

    “We were in the compound one evening when it happened. We ran outside and when people saw us, they asked us what happened and we told them the rock made another sound. So, the youths turned around to see what happened. They were on top of the rock when it made another sound with smoke coming out of it and everyone scattered and ran for their lives.

    “We stop experiencing this after some time now. But the unfortunate thing is the crack on the walls of our houses as a result of the loud sound. As it is any other strike anything can happen particularly that people are living inside the houses.”

    Village Head of Hayin Magina area of Ikara, Malam Umaru Garba confirmed the incidents and said they were ready to cooperate with the government on relocating people close to the rock.

  • Residents flee Oyo communities over tremor

    Residents of communities in Saki West Council Area of Oyo State yesterday abandoned their homes in panic, following reported earth tremor.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the communities included Medina, Balako, Salam Salam, Dauru-Salam and parts of Okesuna.

    The residents told NAN that with the threat, the likelihood of earthquake was not impossible, as the noise being heard from beneath the earth surface was frightening.

    A housewife, Fatima Ishola, said noise from below the earth surface had been on the increase in the last couple of months.

    “But it got to an alarming level this week and particularly today (Wednesday) when the underground noise and movement became too enormous and unbearable,” she added.

    Another resident, Mr. Ismail Muideen, appealed for government intervention, noting that residents had fled their homes.

    NAN reports that government agencies visited the affected areas several times in the last two months.

    The Deputy Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly and an indigene of the area, Mr. Musah Abdulwasi, confirmed the development to NAN.

    He said: “I have been to the areas with senior members of the Geology Department from the University of Ibadan.

    “They hinted that there is likelihood of heavy movement of rocks in the water channel beneath the ground in the affected areas.

    “They advised that evacuation of residents is the only solution to tremor and possible earthquake after establishing degree of tremor.

    “Honestly, they told us that no one could ascertain for now the degree of the tremor and whether it will lead to earthquake or not.”

    The Caretaker Chairman of Saki West Local Government, Mr. Kareem Adekoge, told NAN that agencies, which visited the areas, allayed fears.

    “Besides the Ministry of Environment, the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) has visited the area.

    “They promised to plant a device that will be used to monitor the tremor level. They said the situation might not be as bad as thought.”

    He, however, confirmed that a middle-aged man died, following the incident.

    Adekoge said: “I think the man was hypertensive and could not bear the threat of the noise and movement. So we lost him to the incident.

    “I heard some people are relocating, but it is only tenants that can do that; will a landlord relocate leaving his property behind?”

  • Varsity debunks ‘tremor’ claims

    Varsity debunks ‘tremor’ claims

    Contrary to what was described as earthquake in the main library of the Kogi State University (KSU) in Anyigba, the school management has debunked the claims, saying that what happened was the “puffing” of the floors of the library.

    Acting Librarian, Mr Paul Idachaba, who made the clarification, said the wheezing noise caused panic among students. Some students were injured in the chaos that followed an alleged vibration of the library building.

    Asked what caused the “puffing”, Idachaba said it was due to the swelling of the floor tiles, insisting that no vibration was felt in the library. He said building was safe for reading.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that there was a rush after students heard wheezing sound from a section of the library floor. Out of fear, the students ran out of the building.

    •One of the shelves damaged by the students
    •One of the shelves damaged by the students

    Idachaba said: “None of the students using the library at the time tried to find out what happened after they heard the puffing sound from the floor tiles. They took to their heels; some of them, out of fear, ran into the new shelves and shattered the glass which got a number of them injured.

    “What happened was not a tremor because tremors don’t occur on spots like that. If it was tremor, we would have seen the walls and parts of the walls cracked. But, there is nothing like that.”

    The librarian conducted CAMPUSLIFE round the building to assess the spot. He assured students that management was doing everything to ensure their safety.

    Idachaba said when the support building of the library is completed, it would assist in decongesting the main building.