Adelaide shaken by small earthquake

ADELAIDE was shaken by a small earthquake overnight, which caused no damage or injuries but alarmed many residents. 

ADELAIDE was shaken by a small earthquake overnight, Geoscience Australia says.

The quake, with a magnitude of 3.4 and depth of 24km, struck at 2.22am several kilometres south-east of Blackwood in the Adelaide Hills. 

There are no reports of any damage or injuries but AdelaideNow readers told of rattling windows and the sound of a train approaching. 

The quake was felt by people up to 31km away from its epicentre.

"We have had in excess of 100 reports from people feeling (the tremors),'' said a GeoScience spokesman.

"It's certainly on the smaller scale, but given its proximity to an urban area, it would have been felt by a lot of people.''

Department of Primary Industries and Resources SA seismologist David Love said while earthquakes cannot be predicted, the tremor was likely to be an isolated event.

"We don't really know but it is unlikely that there will be any aftershocks or anything bigger," he said.

The quake was the largest experienced in Adelaide since a 3.8 magnitude quake struck Mount Barker in April last year.

Dr Love said on average South Australia experiences five to ten quakes of a similar magnitude to last night's or greater every year but most are in remote areas.

"On a world wide basis our seismicity is low to moderate," he said.

"On an Australian scale we have a slightly higher probability than most of the other capitals but slightly lower than Newcastle."

Many AdelaideNow readers, from across the state, were woken by the quake.

"I felt it. Probably the first one I have ever really felt or heard. There was quite a noticeable bang then about 3-5 seconds of rumbling. Dog went absolutely crazy. I thought straight away that it was a quake," wrote one Happy Valley resident.

A Seacliff resident said: "Felt it in Seacliff, certainly woke me up, resembled a freight train. The neighbourhood dogs were barking from the onset. Been through much worse, thankfully just a 3.3."

While in Clarendon, another reader wrote:  "Was woken by the tremor in Clarendon (and I am a very heavy sleeper). It felt like the ground swayed for 2-3 seconds...... Scary!"

And a Marion reader said: "It definitely shook enough to wake us, I felt the bed shake, the walls and the windows. We are right on the train line but I knew instantly that it wasn't a train!!"