Panic as earth tremors rock parts of Ghana

Parts of Accra, capital of Ghana, experienced incidents of earth tremor on Monday morning.

While earth tremors and earthquakes are signs of seismic movement within the earth, the difference is the intensity of the movement.

Earthquakes are more intense than tremors.

TheCable’s detailed explainer on earth tremors can be found here.

In a statement on Monday, Daniel Boamah, director-general of the Ghana Geological Survey Authority (GGSA), said the earth tremor incidents happened around 11:43am, 11:53am, and 11:58am with different magnitudes.

He said incidents like these are difficult to predict, and urged the public to remain calm as more information will be provided subsequently.

“On Monday 12 December 2022, three (3) earth tremor events occurred in parts of the Greater Accra region,” Boamah said.

“The foreshock occurred at 11:49am with a magnitude of 2.1. The main event occurred at 11:53am with a magnitude of 3.5. The aftershock occurred at 11:58am with a magnitude of 1.8 on the Richter scale.

“The epicenter is located between Wiaboman and Bojo beach and is about 575m into the sea.

“The recorded magnitudes are indicative of the extent of the tremor. The magnitude of even the main shock is a minor tremor and so it is not expected to cause damage.

“The tremors were highly felt in areas like Dansoman, Mataheko, Weija, and slightly felt in areas like Legon, Amasaman and Accra Central which are far away from the epicenter.

“These are natural occurrences and therefore difficult to predict. However, education and sensitization of the public on awareness and response during such events are key. The public is therefore urged to remain calm and go about their normal businesses.”

Residents of Ghana have since taken to Twitter to express their concerns over the incident.

Earth Tremor in Accra. That was loud.#tremor

— Play🏓 (@victorsmartte) December 12, 2022

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Ummm guys ??? Did anyone else feel the earthquake? My whole building just shook.

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— Ghana’s Sweetheart (@DarlynAdu) December 12, 2022

Bro! Did we just feel an earth tremor or what?😨

— Ölele | DTS👨🏾‍🍳🇬🇭 (@OleleSalvador) December 12, 2022

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This is not the first time Ghana is experiencing earth tremor.

There are records of the incident in previous years, including in 2018, 2019, and 2020.