By Michael Liswaniso OPUWO Residents of this regional capital of Kunene are still reeling from the shock caused by what is suspected to have been a massive earth tremor that struck loudly last Friday evening. It struck at around 19h30, shaking the earth for only a few seconds but struck again more than five times on the same day as suspected after shocks. No electricity interruptions or loss of life were reported but it had its impact on the movement of people as well as the operations of small traders at the town. “It was big and it disrupted my barbershop business. You know Fridays of the 20th and the 25th are always hectic and good for our business to an extent that we normally operate until late, but that rumble stopped us from continuing further. I nearly ran out but I was consoled by customers who were in need of a haircut. Some who were waiting did not even have their hair cut until the following day,” said 23-year-old Evaristus Costa. According to Costa, this was not the first time that something like a tremor has struck Opuwo. “I remember in 2002 when I was in grade 10, a similar thing happened but that one was lighter compared to the Friday one,” noted Costa. Some residents that this correspondent spoke to feel it is high time that the government puts up proper monitoring systems to measure and predict similar happenings in future. “I think it is about time that proper monitoring systems are put up not only in this part of the country but country-wide because today it is happening here in Opuwo, but tomorrow it will be somewhere else since this was not the first time it struck here,” said a resident of the town for many years. Another resident who seemed to share Costa’s sentiments was Ambrosius Tjizu, who said he has never ever experienced a similar happening apart from a very light one some 15 years ago. “The Friday one was big and though I have not yet spoken to anyone about it, others are saying it covered a massive radius of more than 30 km from Opuwo,” noted Tjizu. Another resident that New Era spoke to said at first he thought it was dynamite that is used in blasts to clear out stones for mining operations. “I thought it was dynamite being blown up but when it happened again and again, and especially after midnight, I suspected something else because there is no way that experts can blow up dynamite in the middle of the night, given the risks.” “I just need to hear what is happening because I am still in shock, and I did not sleep over the weekend, I was just scared that the roof might fall on me,” said Musweu Ndana, a resident of the town who experienced sleepless nights as a result of the suspected tremor. It is still unclear about the intensity as well as whether it was indeed an earth tremor that struck this dusty regional capital. The police are also unaware of either military training, or mining companies that requested to use explosives like dynamite, among others, during this time of the year. “We are not aware of anything. We have now dispatched a team to investigate in the mining areas and our investigations are still continuing,” said head of the regional public relations office, Inspector Petrus Shigwedha. Efforts to get hold of geological experts proved futile yesterday.