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Why Adelaide is overdue for a major quake 
Words: Colin James & Jason KatsarasProducer: Bianca Mastroianni
It's been 67 years since Adelaide was hit by a large earthquake. 
Experts warn it's only a matter of time before the next big one hits.  
Seismic events of 6.5 on the Richter scale are forecast for Adelaide in the future.
The city straddles several fault lines which are constantly shifting below the surface, creating three to four small tremors each day.
Those tremors aren't felt but they are measured by geoscientists, who are working to predict when a big earthquake might hit.
Shockwaves from two large quakes in Victoria were recently felt across the South-East and metropolitan Adelaide.
In early October a shallow 4.8 earthquake was recorded at Murrayville, near the SA-Victoria border.
This followed a 6.0 earthquake near Mansfield, north of Melbourne, late last month which caused minor damage.
Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Dr Trevor Allen said the Mt Lofty and Flinders Ranges were some of the most seismically active regions of Australia.
Adelaide had the greatest exposure to “neotectonic faults” of all Australian capital cities, with more than a dozen known fault lines within 50km of the city.
Dr Allen said there were four main fault lines near Adelaide: Para, Eden-Burnside, Clarendon-Ochre Cove and Willunga.
“These faults range up to almost 100km in length... Current knowledge suggests that a large earthquake, up to or exceeding magnitude 6.5 on one of these faults might occur  every 5000 to 10,000 years."–
Dr Trevor AllenGeoscience Australia senior seismologist
The last major quake in Adelaide was in 1954, when a 5.4 tremor with an epicentre at Darlington caused widespread damage.
There were more than 30,000 insurance claims totalling more than $280 million.
Dr Allen said  if a similar quake occurred again, there would be major damage across Adelaide, which is now far more built-up.
“Future investigations between Geoscience Australia and the University of Melbourne on the Willunga fault intend to explore and address some of these uncertainties."– 
Dr Trevor AllenGeoscience Australia senior seismologist
																																								

Original URL: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/web-stories/free/the-advertiser/adelaide-is-overdue-for-a-major-earthquake