Earth Tremors: NGSA Issues Important Notice To Abuja Residents

[Richard Ogunsile]

Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, have been encouraged not to panic following reports of earth tremor in the country’s capital city.​

This important admonition was issued in a statement released on Wednesday by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA).

The NGSA Director-General, Professor Olusegun Ige, noted that the agency has been monitoring these tremors and has determined that they are of low intensity and do not pose any environmental threat.

He further stated that the Monitoring Station (NGSA-5) in Katampe has detected several notable ground movements with significant moment magnitudes (Mw) over the past five days, from September 13, 2024, to the present.

It was also mentioned that only one minor 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. The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from the 13th to the 16th September. There are a few weak events recorded today, 17th September.

“Preliminary analysis of the waveforms showed that the sources of the ground motions are less than 5 km away from the monitoring station,” the NGSA boss noted.

The NGSA disclosed that the affected areas have been visited for on-the-spot assessments of the events.

From the accounts of the residents of the affected areas, the observations by the NGSA team, and findings from earlier interpretations of the airborne geophysical data over the area and adjoining areas, it said the following conclusions were made:

• 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.
• There are multiple epicentres associated with the recent tremor. Most of the epicentres are located northeast of the NGSA-5 Seismic Station around 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 and
• Residents of Mpape, Katampe, Maitama, and surrounding areas where tremors were experienced are urged to remain calm, as these tremors are classified as low in intensity.

The Agency stressed that it actively monitors the situation and will issue updates as needed.

Furthermore, the public is reminded that the NGSA Seismic Stations are under continuous real-time observation to facilitate immediate alerts regarding any significant occurrences.

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