Latest news with #GeoscienceAustralia
ABC News
28-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Shallow magnitude 3.5 earthquake recorded near Appin, south-west of Sydney
A shallow magnitude 3.5 earthquake has been recorded near Appin, south-west of Sydney. The earthquake was felt at 2:53pm this afternoon, striking at a depth of two kilometres. Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Dr Jonathan Bathgate said an earthquake of this size was relatively small but was strong enough to be felt throughout the region. "It would have been quite short in terms of its duration of shaking but certainly people have felt it around the region," Dr Bathgate said. "Often people hear it more than they feel it with these sorts of magnitudes. Generally there's a short, sharp jolt at magnitude 3." Geoscience Australia's website shows hundreds of "felt reports" with the earthquake appearing to originate from an area near Appin in the Wollondilly Shire. "We have certainly got a lot of reports to the National Earthquake Alert Centre in Canberra from the southern suburbs of Sydney, not so much in the north," Dr Bathgate said. Callers to Sydney radio have told of their experience, including Savana from Camden who said she was working from home when she felt her whole house shake. Others on social media reported feeling the tremor at Spring Farm and Coledale. Geoscience Australia said the earthquake was not a mine blast. "It is difficult to say whether it is mining related or not at these sorts of magnitudes," he said. "At this stage it looks like normal seismic activity we have been recording there for a number of years." The NSW State Emergency Service said there have been no reports of damage.
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- Science
- News.com.au
Western NSW residents shake through 5.2 magnitude earthquake
An earthquake has shaken parts of western NSW in the early hours of Saturday morning, but some are reporting the event could be felt hours away from the epicentre. Geoscience Australia confirmed a magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck just after 2.30am in a remote part of Orana region, about 160 kilometres southeast of Bourke. The initial quake was followed seven minutes later by a magnitude 4.2 aftershock and another magnitude 3.6 tremor was also felt around 5.30am. The shocks continued throughout the day with a magnitude 3.0 at 11.46am and magnitude 3.5 at 1.03pm. Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Phil Cummins said any aftershocks felt in the NSW region is following a normal pattern. 'As far as we can tell this is all part of a normal aftershock sequence and therefore expect the earthquakes to decrease in frequency and magnitude,' he said. The senior seismologist said a number of people in western NSW are feeling the effects of the shock. 'It was widely felt, getting over 260 reports, ranging as far as Orange and Dubbo,' he said While Australia sits in the middle of a tectonic plate, meaning it is less likely to get an earthquake, the continent can still experience earthquakes. Local residents took to the Geoscience Australia Facebook page to discuss the impact of the earthquake. One person living in Forbes said they 'felt my floor vibrate last night twice about 10 minutes apart, though there was something under my house.' A second person said 'my dogs woke me up whining and my daughter was awake and felt the bed shake in Coonamble after a house rattle beforehand.' While another reported saying they 'felt nothing in Narromine, slept straight through it.' A fourth person working in the mines also reported that they did not feel the shock. 'Working underground at Peak Gold Mines Cobar last night l didn't fill a thing or ground movements.' Any members of the public who feel the impact of an earthquake are encouraged to lodge a felt report at Geoscience Australia.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
‘Widely felt': Earthquake rattles NSW
An earthquake has shaken parts of western NSW in the early hours of Saturday morning, but some are reporting the event could be felt hours away from the epicentre. Geoscience Australia confirmed a magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck just after 2.30am in a remote part of Orana region, about 160 kilometres southeast of Bourke. The initial quake was followed seven minutes later by a magnitude 4.2 aftershock and another magnitude 3.6 tremor was also felt around 5.30am. The shocks continued throughout the day with a magnitude 3.0 at 11.46am and magnitude 3.5 at 1.03pm. Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Phil Cummins said any aftershocks felt in the NSW region is following a normal pattern. 'As far as we can tell this is all part of a normal aftershock sequence and therefore expect the earthquakes to decrease in frequency and magnitude,' he said. The senior seismologist said a number of people in western NSW are feeling the effects of the shock. 'It was widely felt, getting over 260 reports, ranging as far as Orange and Dubbo,' he said While Australia sits in the middle of a tectonic plate, meaning it is less likely to get an earthquake, the continent can still experience earthquakes. Local residents took to the Geoscience Australia Facebook page to discuss the impact of the earthquake. One person living in Forbes said they 'felt my floor vibrate last night twice about 10 minutes apart, though there was something under my house.' A second person said 'my dogs woke me up whining and my daughter was awake and felt the bed shake in Coonamble after a house rattle beforehand.' While another reported saying they 'felt nothing in Narromine, slept straight through it.' A fourth person working in the mines also reported that they did not feel the shock. 'Working underground at Peak Gold Mines Cobar last night l didn't fill a thing or ground movements.' Any members of the public who feel the impact of an earthquake are encouraged to lodge a felt report at Geoscience Australia.
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Aussies shaken awake as 'rare' magnitude 5.2 earthquake strikes series of regional towns in NSW
Aussies in north-central New South Wales have been shaken awake by a series of early-morning earthquakes with reports of tremors as far away as Queensland. A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck the Orana region of NSW at 2.36am on Saturday followed by a magnitude 4.1 aftershock just minutes later. Geoscience Australia reported the initial tremor hit at a shallow depth of 10km and was felt by residents across a wide area, including Nyngan, Carinda, Dubbo, Narromine, Coolah, and Collarenebri. A third 3.6 magnitude earthquake was recorded at 5.43am. More than 135 people reporting tremors to Geoscience Australia by 4am. Orana covers approximately 25 per cent of NSW and encompasses 12 local government areas. A resident in Forbes, 375km west of Sydney, said they felt their house shake. 'Felt my floor vibrate last night twice about 10 minutes apart. Thought there was something under my house,' they said. 'Woke us up in Moree,' another said. Helen Crosland, from Nyngan, said she 'felt it significantly'. 'Yes, it woke me up. I thought it was a train. Couldn't understand why the vibration was different and the odd timing. Now I know,' another said. Darryl Stokes said he even felt the quake in Queensland. 'Windows vibrated here on the Gold Coast,' he said. No significant damage or injuries were reported, but local authorities said they were monitoring the situation as minor aftershocks are still possible. Earthquakes above a magnitude of five occur every two years in Australia, but those events are rare in inland NSW. On average, 100 earthquakes of a magnitude of three or more are recorded in Australia each year. An earthquake exceeding magnitude seven occurs somewhere in Australia every 100 years on average. The Seismology Research Centre said the Orana region quakes were among the strongest to hit the state in recent years.
ABC News
24-05-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Significant earthquake shakes homes and wakes residents across western NSW
A "significant" earthquake has shaken parts of western New South Wales early on Saturday, in a seismic event felt as far away as Sydney. Geoscience Australia says the magnitude 5.2 quake struck just after 2:30am in a remote part of the Orana region, about 90 kilometres north of Nyngan and 160 kilometres south-east of Bourke. It was followed seven minutes later by a magnitude 4.2 aftershock and another magnitude 3.7 tremor about 5:30am. Senior Seismologist Trevor Allen says hundreds of people have registered feeling the impact on the Geoscience Australia website. "It is a significant earthquake," he said. Dr Allen said, despite the size of the quake, no damage had so far been reported. "Given that most of the felt reports are coming from a fair distance away from the earthquake, most people are reporting relatively light levels of ground shaking — and so we probably wouldn't expect to observe any damage from this event." Followers of the ABC Western Plains Facebook page shared their experience, with hundreds leaving comments. People have reported windows rattling in Condobolin, doors shaking in Walgett, beds squeaking in Bugaldie, wooden ducks falling off shelves in Narrabri and homes creaking in Bingara and Warialda. Some around Trundle say they thought grain trucks were passing nearby, while in Dubbo, sleepers awoke to a rumble that lasted about 30 seconds. Residents reported being woken by it in Wee Waa, while as far away as Maitland, one reported the wardrobe shaking. Another in Dubbo said it shook their home and their dogs and birds "were going bonkers". While Australia sits in the middle of a tectonic plate — far from earthquake-prone plate boundaries — the continent still experiences stress build-up in its ancient, fractured crust, Dr Allen said. "Over time, those stresses build up on existing faults," he said. "Once they become too great, the rocks break — and that's what we see as an earthquake." Western NSW is not known for high seismic activity, with only 12 quakes recorded within 200 kilometres of Saturday's event in the past 25 years. A similar-sized tremor happened in the nearby Coonamble Basin in 1961. Dr Allen said aftershocks could continue for days, or even weeks, but their frequency and strength would probably decline. He urged anyone who felt Saturday's quake to report it on the Geoscience Australia website and to remember earthquake safety advice: "Drop, cover and hold." "The reason we tell people that is because oftentimes it's not necessarily a building or the structure that fails and injures people, it is more often than not non-structural fittings within a building that are the cause of some of the major injuries and fatalities — things like air conditioning ducts, shelving, those sorts of things that can fall and injure people."
