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 Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, (NGSA) has allayed fears over earth tremors experienced in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city, urging residents not to panic.
The NGSA Director-General, Olusegun Ige, in a statement on Wednesday, said the agency has been monitoring the tremors and found them to be low and non-threatening.
Earth tremors, also known as seismic tremors, are small earthquakes or vibrations in the earth's surfaces.
On Wednesday, the agency said its monitoring station (NGSA-5) at Katampe recorded several significant ground motions with high moment magnitudes from 13 to 17 September, noting that the intensity and frequency of the tremors increased from 13 to 16 September with multiple epicentres identified around Mpape and Katampe axes.
"The monitoring station (NGSA-5) at Katampe has been capturing several significant ground motions with high moment magnitudes (Mw) in the past five days, beginning from 13 September 2024 till date.
"Only one mild event was recorded on 13 September. Six of these events were captured on the 14th of September, while over 21 events were captured on the 15th with higher intensities. More than twenty events were recorded on the 16th of September. The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from the 13th to the 16th of September. There are a few weak events recorded today, 17th September," the statement said.
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It said preliminary analysis of the waveforms showed that the sources of the ground motions are less than 5 km away from the monitoring station.
According to the statement, the NGSA team also visited the affected areas for on-the-spot assessments of the events.
It said from the accounts of the residents of the affected areas, the observations by the NGSA team, and findings from earlier interpretations of the airborne geophysical data over the area and adjoining areas, the following conclusions were made:
"The tremors are a result of accumulated stress along the identified faults and released seismic energy, which may have travelled through associated fractures to areas where the tremors were felt around the FCT.
"There are multiple epicentres associated with the recent tremor. Most of the epicentres are located northeast of the NGSA-5 Seismic Station around the Mpape axis, while a few are located southwest of the station around the Katampe axis. 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," it said.
The agency said it is keeping a close monitoring of the situation and will provide updates as may become necessary.
"The general public should also be aware that the NGSA seismic stations are being monitored in real-time to ensure prompt alerts on any major event," it said.
