An earthquake-originally thought to be just a tremor-was felt across most parts of South Africa early this afternoon. Students and staff at the Durban University of Technology literally felt the Earth move under their feet just after 12H20 today (Tuesday, 5 July 2014).

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake which centered close to the mining town of Orkney in the North West province was recorded. Social media sites were buzzing with first-hand accounts from South Africans who felt the earthquake in the North West, Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga and here in KwaZulu-Natal. People also felt the earthquake in neighbouring countries like Botswana and Mozambique.

There have been media reports of damage to buildings and sadly, the loss of one life. Some miners were also trapped underground at a mine in Orkney and emergency rescue experts are currently on the scene. The quake is the largest in the southern Africa region since a 7.0 tremor in Zimbabwe in 2006.