Two earth tremors within the space of twenty four hours hit communities in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, causing panic in the area but also widespread concern across the country. The first tremor occurred at about 10.30am on Sunday at Kwoi, headquarters of the local government. Town residents fled in panic on hearing vibrations in the earth and also loud sounds. Kwoi is about twenty kilometres away from Nok town, the centre of the world renowned Nok civilisation.
Less than a day later, more earth tremors occurred at Sambang Dagi village, also in Jaba Local Government. The second incident occurred at about 4am yesterday, Monday. Residents had to again scamper for safety in the wake of the unusual tremors. Local and state authorities were yet to say whether there were casualties from the two events.
An earth tremor is a small scale earthquake. Earthquakes themselves are signs of seismic movement within the earth. They are vibrations caused by rocks breaking under stress against an underground surface called a fault plane while a tremor is an involuntary movement of earth surface caused by stress in the underground rocks.
Seismologists say that earthquakes occur when the earth’s tectonic plates move and contact other plates or when plates rub against each other. Parts of the world that sit on the edges of continental plates are particularly prone to earthquakes and tremors. The Pacific Rim countries as well as parts of Nepal, Turkey, Iran, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Armenia and California, USA often suffer from earthquakes.
Nigeria and most of Africa however sit in the middle of a continental plate and are not usually prone to quakes and tremors. Even though tremors are very rare around here, there have been some episodes, such as the tremor experienced in Ogun State in the mid-1980s.
We must all worry because of the extremely destructive power of tremors and quakes and also the tendency of a quake to be followed by more tremors, called aftershocks. That two tremors occurred in Sanga Local Government within 24 hours suggests that something is happening in the ground below and the possibility of more tremors, in Sanga and in other places, cannot be ruled out.
Soon after the first tremor, Kaduna State Government responded swiftly. Governor Nasir el-Rufa’i’s spokesman said the governor had reported the matter to the country’s geological authorities and also ordered the state emergency management agency to mobilise men and resources to the area and deal with any possible emergencies. Kaduna State Government also advised the people not to panic, which is a very good advice because panic tends to aggravate crisis situations and create unnecessary casualties.
Still, we cannot expect the people of Sanga or of surrounding areas to sleep with their two eyes closed in this situation. The matter has been reported to federal authorities but no one has the power to stop an earth tremor. What the authorities can do however is to immediately undertake a seismic study, with the help of seismological institutes and watch centres around the world, to determine just what is happening in Sanga.
These international centres may not even have to visit Sanga or Nigeria; they are capable of measuring seismic events around the world promptly. We need to know urgently if there is the need to evacuate people from the area lest a major event occurs.
Beyond that, the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology should now pay attention to an eventuality that is not so common in Nigeria, i.e. earth tremors. It should undertake a complete seismological study of the country and determine which areas, if any, are prone to earth tremors so that the correct advice regarding buildings will be issued and necessary emergency facilities be put in place. We cannot stumble along on this one. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
