Adelaide tremor: Small earthquake with epicentre in Mount Compass hits parts of SA

ADELAIDE was hit by an earthquake at lunchtime today with reports coming in from across the city by those who felt it.

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ADELAIDE was hit by an earthquake at lunchtime today with reports coming in from across the city by those who felt it.

The Geoscience Australia website reported a 3.0 magnitude quake around Mount Compass at 12.13pm, with tremors felt from as far afield as Verdun, Morphett Vale and Blackwood.

Geoscience Australia seismologist Jonathan Bathgate said the quake was not unusual for the area, with nearly 50 similar magnitude tremors in the area in the past 30 years.

But he doesn’t predict any future tremors, at least for today.

“It’s a part of the country that’s very active in terms of this type of activity,’’ he said.

“It’s not serious enough to expect aftershocks.”

While reports were made from as far afield as Blackwood, Mr Bathgate said whether tremors were felt depended a lot on where you were when the quake hit.

“It depends on the structure — the higher up you are, say in an apartment, the more likely you are to feel it,’’ he said.

“It’s also dependent on local geology. A sedimentary area, near the coast, can amplify shaking.”

Leah Woolley’s Port Willunga home shifted slightly as a result of the quake.

Leah Woolley, 29, felt the earthquake in her Port Willunga home.

“I heard what sounded like a distant rumble, almost like a loud motorbike, until it got closer and shook the house,” Ms Woolley said.

“In the seconds after the shaking stopped the back of my house and pergola were creaking and shifting.”

Bill Chakravarti, who lives at Noarlunga Downs, said there was a “muted roar” preceding the tremor.

“We were all at home at the time. As shakes go, it was stronger than others that we’ve felt previously,” Mr Chakravarti said.

“Due to its strength, it was concerning as we have a person with severe physical disabilities living with us and you never know how these incidents will pan out in terms of intensity, length and frequency (after shocks etc) and how you have to respond.

“There was luckily no damage.”

South Australia has a bit of a history when it comes to mini-earthquakes. Last month a minuscule 2.5 magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of 10km in the Barossa Valley.

The “quake”, which had an epicentre north of Nuriootpa, hit at about 5am on April 19, according to Geoscience Australia.

The state also was “rattled” by two earth movements in nine days back in February 2017.

There was no damage.

And in September last year, people across the state reported being woken by mysterious tremors that rattled windows and sent pets into a frenzy — but authorities said there was no earthquake.

The Geoscience Australia website initially reported a 1.4 magnitude quake around Mount Compass but the notice was removed from the website after further investigations.

The agency subsequently advised instead that the event was caused by thunder and that no quake had been detected.

Adelaide’s last major earthquake was in the early hours of March 1, 1954, and it caused widespread damage.

Despite a lack of sophisticated measuring equipment it was estimated the city was hit by an quake around a magnitude of 5.5 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre somewhere near Darlington, about 12km south of the CBD.

Until the Newcastle earthquake of 1989, the Adelaide quake was the most damaging recorded in Australia, and is a reminder that we are considered the most likely big Australian city at risk of a significant shock.

Damage to a bedroom at the Victoria Hotel, Tapley's Hill, after the 1954 quake.

At the Victoria Hotel at Tapley’s Hill the quake devastated the old pub. “It’s the first time I’ve ever heard my wife scream,” publican Alf Gibbons said later. “But when you see cracks opening in the walls and you hear a sound like a bomb going off, it’s pretty frightening.”

Did you feel the tremor? Post your comments below.