Three earthquakes felt in Muswellbrook and Denman
Three earthquakes measuring 4.4, 3.8 and 2.9 magnitudes have struck the upper Hunter region of NSW today. The earthquakes were strong enough to be felt indoors but no major damage has been reported.
NSW
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Three earthquakes measuring 4.4, 3.8 and 2.9 magnitude, have struck Muswellbrook and Denman northwest of Newcastle today.
The 3.8 magnitude quake was felt just 5km south of Muswellbrook town centre at 3:30pm this afternoon. The 4.4 magnitude quake hit Denman, around 25km southwest of Muswellbrook just after 4.30pm.
This was followed by an “aftershock” earthquake in Denman at 6.11pm.
The earthquakes were strong enough to be felt indoors by Musswellbrook residents, however Muswellbrook Shire Council confirmed no damage has been reported at this stage.
“We absolutely felt it — it was quite significant,’ said council spokeswoman Christine Middleton.
Local Sharon Taylor works at the Denman Hotel and said the experience was “frightening”.
“There was the first one at 3.30pm, then the second one was not as bad at 4.30pm. It shook the building. and then at 25 to five, there was another one,” she said.
“People could feel it outside. The last one wasn’t as bad but it’s all frightening with drought season and the fires.”
Denman Bowling Club bar attendant Hayley Cornell said she felt the first two earthquakes but not the aftershock.
“It didn’t take long but it scared the crap out of me because I didn’t know what was happening,” she said.
Geoscience Australia seismologist Hadi Ghasemi said it was the largest earthquake event in Muswellbrook since 2000.
“It would have felt like a small sharp movement followed by shakes which would have happened very quickly,” Mr Ghasemi said.
It is not the first time an earthquake has struck the town, with a 2.5 magnitude registering in September this year. Since the year 2000 there have been more than 100 earthquakes recorded, ranging from 1.5 to today’s 4.4 magnitude.
Geoscience Australia received around 120 reports from people who felt the earthquake, but had no reports of damage.
Mr Ghasemi said Australia lies within a tectonic plate, not on its border like Japan where earthquake activity is more common.
“You get more active earthquakes when you are on the border of the plate. In Australia we get intraplate earthquakes which are quieter but at the same time, it may increase the risk because people underestimate the hazard and the buildings here may not be as resistant,” he said.
“We should bear in mind that Australia is not earthquake-free and when they do happen even the moderate ones can cause a lot of damage, for example the Newcastle earthquake.”
Mr Ghasemi said that although normally an earthquake will have a “big shock” and then “a little shock” — it is not unusual for there to be two similar sized earthquakes 10km away.
He added that it would not be surprising if some aftershocks of smaller magnitudes continue today.
“The magnitude would be lower and it would be in the same region but then you cannot predict earthquakes. No one can know for sure.”
Muswellbrook is about 120km north west of Newcastle, which famously experienced one of Australia’s most devastating earthquakes on December 28th 1989. The quake killed 13 people, injured more than 160 and lead to billions of dollars in damages.