By ABAH ADAH, Abuja
Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, NGSA, has allayed fear over the earth tremors experienced in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, urging residents not to panic.
Its Director-General, Professor Olusegun Ige disclosed in a statement that NGSA monitored the tremors and found them to be low and did not pose any threat to the environment
“The Monitoring Station (NGSA-5) at Katampe has been capturing several significant ground motions with high moment magnitudes (Mw) in the last five days, beginning from September 13 till date.
“Only one mild event was recorded on September 13. Six of these events were captured on September 14, while over 21 events were captured on September 15 with higher intensities.
“More than 20 events were recorded on September 16. The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from September 13-16.
“There are a few weak events recorded today, September 17. Preliminary analysis of the waveforms showed that the sources of the ground motions are less than five kilometres away from the monitoring station,” the statement reads in part.
According to the director-general, the NGSA team also visited the affected areas for on-the-spot assessment of the events.
From the accounts of residents of the affected areas, observations by the team and findings from earlier interpretations of the airborne geophysical data over the area and adjoining areas, the team concluded that the tremors were as 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 tremor. Most of them 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.
“Residents of Mpape, Katampe, Maitama, and other areas where the tremors were felt are advised not to panic as they 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 NGSA Seismic Stations are being monitored in real time to ensure prompt alerts on any major event,” NGSA said.
