The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) has allayed fears over earth tremors experienced in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja urging residents not to panic.
In a statement on Wednesday, NGSA’s Director-General, Prof. Olusegun Ige disclosed that agency monitored the tremors and found them to be low and did n0t pose any threat to the environment.
The statement read: “ 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 14 September, while over 21 events were captured on the 15th with higher intensities. More than 20 events were recorded on 16 September. The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from the 13 to 16 September. There are a few weak events recorded today, 17 September.
“Preliminary analysis of the waveforms showed that the sources of the ground motions are less than five kilometres away from the monitoring station.
“NGSA team also visited the affected areas 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, the following conclusions were made:
* 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 epicenters associated with the recent tremor. Most of the epicenters are located northeast of the NGSA-5 Seismic Station around Mpape axis, while a few are located southwest of the Station around 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 general public should also be aware that the NGSA Seismic Stations are being monitored in real time to ensure prompt alerts on any major event.
