5.9 magnitude quake hits southwest of Africa

The epicenter of the quake, which occurred at around 17:59 (UTC), was registered at a depth of 10.0 kilometers, about southwest of the continent in the Atlantic sea.

Johannesburg:An earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale struck southwest off the African continent on Monday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The epicenter of the quake, which occurred at around 17:59 (UTC), was registered at a depth of 10.0 kilometers, about southwest of the continent in the Atlantic sea.

Earthquakes in the region are somewhat rare though they are frequently experienced in certain parts of the West Indies; but an earthquake of deep focus in this region is certainly a more rare occurrence, if not entirely without precedent.