The National Space Research and Development Agency, NASRDA, has revealed what caused a recent earthquake that was witnessed in Bayelsa State.

The earth tremor witnessed two times in Bayelsa State may have been caused by oil and exploration activities in the state, a preliminary report released by the agency stated.

According to the report, other possible causes of the earth movement include suspected suture zones linking the southern part of Nigeria to an oceanic mega shear zone; flacking, giving rise to induced seismicity; and other possible man-made activities that may not be directly known.

It was reported on July 16, 2016 that a suspected earth tremor in parts of Bayelsa and Rivers States caused apprehension among residents of the affected communities in the two oil-rich states.

Residents of the areas had told newsmen that the tremor caused serious cracks on the walls of their buildings though no injury was reported.

It was learnt that in some of the impacted communities such as Igbogene and Akenfa in Bayelsa as well as Akinima, Akie-Oniso (Oruama), many people who experienced the earth tremor did not recover from the trauma after days.

Nigeria reportedly experienced tremors in 1933, 1939, 1964, 1984, 1990, 1994, 1997, 2000 and 2009 in various parts of the country.