Was it or wasn't it? Yes, it was! A tremor measuring 3,6 on the Richter Scale was felt in southern Namibia and northern South Africa late last week.

According to data provided to the Geological Survey of Namibia by its South African counterparts, the tremor struck last Thursday. It was felt as far as Upington in the Northern Cape.

According to Dave Hutchins of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, "[although] a tremor is felt by individuals, there is no damage. It becomes an earthquake when there is damage to, for instance, buildings and there are [earth surface] displacements."

Hutchins said an earthquake is further distinguished from a tremor if it measures "4 and above" on the Richter Scale. He said as far as he knew, the strongest quake yet recorded in Namibia took place last year and was measured at 6.

It is important to note that the Richter Scale, which goes from 1 to 10, is not a linear scale, Hutchins said. This means that from 1 to 2 constitutes an increase of "100 times". Namibia is not regarded as a country prone to devastating earthquakes as a result of its geological location.