Earth tremor: FG allays fears as Abuja community residents plan relocation

Some residents of Mpape, a suburban community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, who have been living in fear, following recurrence of earth tremor that occurred there in the last few days, are planning to relocate from the community to safe places.

A statement by the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency released on Wednesday, however, assured the residents that the tremors recorded were low and posed no threat to the community.

The Director General, Professor Olusegun Ige, disclosed in the statement that, approximately 48 separate earthquakes were recorded.

According to him, both intensity and frequency increasing between Friday, September 13th, and Monday, September 16th.

“The NGSA Monitoring Station at Katampe has been capturing several significant ground motions with high moment magnitudes in the past five days, from September 13, 2024, till date,” he said.

“Of these incidents, 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,” he added.

“More than 20 events were recorded on the 16th of September. The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from September 13th to 16th. There are a few weak events recorded today, 17th September,” Ige said.

“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 statement read.

While allaying fears, the Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency, Dr Matthew Adepoju, during a press conference in Abuja, urged residents not to panic, insisting that the situation was under control.

The space scientist also disclosed that quarry workers and excavators working in the affected areas had been ordered to suspend their activities.

He said, “It has not got to the stage of panic yet. We want to assure the people of Mpape and Abuja that the earth tremors we had are not the type that can cause earthquakes. We will continue to monitor the situation and update you on a regular basis.

“Again, earth tremor is not peculiar to Nigeria. This is a global phenomenon known to the whole world. Unlike the Tsunami that happened in the Asia Pacific Ocean, the ones we are having here are minor ones that have nothing to do with earthquakes.

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Geoffrey Nnaji, also shared a similar sentiment, saying all hands are on deck to avert any disaster.

“Many may recall that Mpape experienced a similar sequence of earth tremors from September 5 to 7, 2018, which drew significant local and international attention to Nigeria’s increasing seismic activity. The recent tremors were accompanied by loud noises and ground shaking, causing widespread alarm among the residents of Mpape,” he said.

“In response, the government is currently processing and analysing comprehensive datasets from its Seismological and GNSS stations to provide relevant recommendations to the FCT Administration.

“We urge the residents of Mpape, and by extension the wider Abuja area, to remain calm and continue their normal activities. NASRDA is closely monitoring the situation and will soon implement measures to mitigate the seismic risks,” he said.

However, residents are insisting on relocation as they would not want to take chances with their lives and property.

A resident Balla Usman said he would surely relocate with his family of three because they had been experiencing several tremors in the community since the have been living there for over 20 years and could no longer cope with the fear of the disaster.

“Me and my family have been living here for now more than 20 years. Sometimes the shaking will come with a big bang as if it is a bomb blast. Sometimes, we do feel movement under the ground. There used to be a quarry here, and so we used to assume that they were blasting rocks, but we found out that is not the case. We never knew it’s earth tremor which is very dangerous,” Usman said.

“The occurrence last Sunday was very serious, after the heavy rain on that day. We thought that buildings would collapses but nothing happened.

“Although government is planning to find solution, me and my family will relocate from the community if God provides money,” he insisted.

“Many residents here have also made up their minds to vacate the community because we have been living in fear. People can not take their lives and property for granted,” Usman stressed.