Earth tremors rock Abuja as government urges residents not to panic
Residents of Nigeria’s Abuja, particularly in the Maitama, Katampe, and Mpape areas, have been experiencing a series of earth tremors that have raised significant concern among the local population in the past few days.
The tremors began last weekend and have continued intermittently, with many residents reporting vibrations that disrupted their daily lives and sleep patterns.
The most notable incidents occurred late on Monday night between 11:00 p.m. and 11:20 p.m., prompting numerous social media posts from anxious residents seeking information and reassurance from authorities.
Some residents have expressed frustration over the lack of communication from the National Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) regarding the situation.
Dr. Ebenezer Adebisi, chairman of the Mpape Hills Landlord Association, stated that these tremors are more intense than those typically caused by nearby quarry blasting activities. He emphasized that this is not the first occurrence of such tremors in the area but noted an increase in frequency over the past five days.
For days, there was no official statement from either the NGSA or the Federal Ministry of Environment addressing these tremors.
An anonymous official from NGSA even suggested that residents should consider temporary relocation if the vibrations persist and advised them to document any occurrences for further analysis.
As anxiety grows among residents about potential risks associated with these tremors, calls for government intervention and guidance continue to escalate.
Government allays fears
On Wednesday however, Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) allayed fears over the tremors in a statement.
NGSA’s boss, Professor Olusegun Ige, urged residents not to panic.
Ige disclosed that NGSA monitored the tremors and found them to be low and didn’t pose any threat to the environment
The 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. The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from the 13th to 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.
“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.”
