Fear gripped residents of Southern Kaduna yesterday after two earth tremors shook the ground and buildings but caused no damage.
Urging calm, the Kaduna State government said it had made a formal report to appropriate authorities to investigate and issue appropriate guidance on the development.
Already, experts have warned that six states, Lagos, Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Cross River and Oyo , could experience earthquakes before 2020.
The Nigerian Association of
Water-Well Drilling Rig Owners and Practitioners (AWDROP) called on the Federal
Government to take measures that could mitigate effects in the vulnerable
states.
The two tremors, which occurred
while people were in church, were particularly strong in Kwoi town,
headquarters of Jaba Local Council of Kaduna State. According to information
received in Abuja, the incident left many people confused.
“We initially thought it was a bomb
blast. The sound and reverberations were repeated within an hour, sending
chills down our spines. We were told they were from the Nok area. But a call
there showed it was not so. Please, pray for us,” Taliya Ezra told The Guardian
on phone.
An indigene of Kwoi, based in Abuja,
confirmed the tremors, but said his enquiries did not show there had been any
damage to structures or even the earth surface.
This is the second time tremors
would shake parts of Kaduna State this year. On July 30, 2016, Haying Magani in
Ikara Local Council of the state was shaken by a light tremor, which destroyed
homes and injured people.
According to a statement by Special
Assistant to the Governor (Media and Publicity), Samuel Aruwan, Governor Nasir
Ahmad El-Rufai confirmed that geological and emergency agencies had been
notified.
“The governor sympathises with the
people in the Kwoi area over the reported tremors. He has directed the State
Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to mobilise to the area and comfort our
citizens. The National Geological Agency has also been notified, and has been
invited to investigate the tremors and provide appropriate guidance,” reads the
statement in part.
Confirming the incident, the
chairman, Caretaker Committee of Kwoi Local Council, Ben Kure, said: “I was in
church around 10:30 a.m. when, for about three to five seconds, the first one
occurred, shaking the entire town and buildings. We came out from the church
and inspected the town. There was no damage or injury. Two hours later, while I
was driving to Kaduna, a palace official called to inform me that there had
been another tremor. There was also no damage.”
AWDROP, at a press conference
addressed by its National President, Michael Ale, lamented that lack of
Underground Water Abstraction Regulation in Nigeria could induce earthquakes
and sea water intrusion, “hence the need for government to ensure strict
compliance in the implementation of the code of practice in borehole drilling.”
Ale said his association had been
informed of salt-water intrusion affecting underground water usage and
subsidence along the land-ocean boundaries in shoreline areas.
Researchers from the Department of
Geology, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, led by Dr. Adepelumi
Adekunle Abraham, had, in a report titled, “Preliminary Assessment of Earth
Tremor Occurrence in Shaki Area, Shaki West Local Government, Oyo State”,
warned of an impending ‘damaging earthquake’ in the next four years.
Adepelumi’s report states: “After
the earth tremor of 2009 in southwestern Nigeria that was felt in several towns
and villages in Oyo, Osun and Ogun States, a detailed short-term probabilistic
earthquake prediction was carried out by our team. Our findings indicate the
probability of earthquake occurrence in the study area between the year 2009
and 2028 increased from 2.8 per cent to 91.1 per cent.”
Source:The Guardian
Tags
Society