page_title: 2014 Orkney earthquake
section_title: Impact
hierarchical_section_title: 2014 Orkney earthquake / Impact
caption_attribution_description: English: Orkney station, North West
context_page_description: The 2014 Orkney earthquake occurred at 12:22:33 SAST on 5 August, with the epicentre near Orkney, a gold mining town in the Klerksdorp district in the North West province of South Africa. The shock was assigned a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale by the Council for Geoscience in South Africa, making it the biggest earthquake in South Africa since the 1969 Tulbagh earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale. The United States Geological Survey estimated a focal depth of 5.0 km. The CGS reported 84 aftershocks on 5 August and 31 aftershocks on 6 August, with a magnitude of 1.0 to 3.8 on the Richter scale. According to the CGS, the earthquake is the biggest mining-related earthquake in South African history.
context_section_description: The earthquake occurred at 12:22:33 SAST on 5 August 2014, with the epicentre near Orkney, a gold mining town in the Klerksdorp district in the North West province of South Africa. The shock was assigned a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale by the Council for Geoscience (CGS) in South Africa, making it the biggest earthquake in South Africa since the 1969 Tulbagh earthquake, which had a magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimated a focal depth of 5.0 km (3.1 mi). The CGS reported 84 aftershocks on 5 August and 31 aftershocks on 6 August, with a magnitude of 1.0 to 3.8 on the Richter scale.
caption: Orkney, North West
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