Western Sydney hit by 3.6 magnitude earthquake

In the small Blue Mountains village of Glenbrook, a 3.6 magnitude earthquake that struck on Friday night, prompting thousands of 000 calls, has become the talk of the town.

In the small Blue Mountains village of Glenbrook, a 3.6 magnitude earthquake that struck on Friday night, prompting thousands of calls to emergency services, has become the talk of the town.

“It’s the number one topic today,” said deli owner Con Grazotis. He thought someone had jumped on the roof of his house.

“It felt like a big gust of wind that came in out of nowhere and shook the house. This was crazy - I didn’t know if someone had landed on the roof or if a tree had fallen. I went around outside the house thinking, ‘I hope I don’t find anyone because I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Hadi Ghasemi said the earthquake hit about 20km southwest of Penrith.

“It was quite a shallow event, and due to the time it happened it has been widely felt and we have received close to 3000 ‘felt’ reports from the public,” he said.

“The earthquake’s focal point was close to the surface ... so while it was a small event it was felt by many.”

Con Grazotis at his Glenbrook deli. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Mr Ghasemi said there was always a possibility of aftershocks, but if that occurred they would likely be smaller than the main shock.

“The largest aftershock is usually at least one magnitude less than the main shock,” he said.

A NSW Police spokeswoman said they had received hundreds of inquiries from concerned residents in the Penrith area, however so far there had been no reports of injury or damage.

Did anyone else feel that? A 3.6 magnitude earthquake has occurred around the Warragamba area, with tremors being felt across the Blue Mountains and western Sydney area. pic.twitter.com/bbOPb1dPnD

— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) March 8, 2024

Many residents of Penrith, the Blue Mountains and beyond described feeling a large shake at around 8.53pm.

Alex Carpenter, 18, was in his bedroom in South Penrith when he felt his room and house shaking, accompanied by a loud bang. “The house shook for about a second and stopped,” he said. “I raced outside because I thought someone had had an accident. My next thought was earthquake.”

The electrician said his neighbours and parents, who had lived in Penrith all their life, had never experienced anything like this before.

“It’s unbelievable, I never thought there would be an earthquake in Penrith.”

Good evening, #Sydney! Did you feel that? We've detected a 3.6 magnitude #earthquake near #Penrith. Nearly 2,000 people have already lodged a report for us via Earthquakes@GA. You can lodge one here: https://t.co/2NhYJC099d pic.twitter.com/lxiPa2BPG6

— Geoscience Australia (@GeoscienceAus) March 8, 2024

Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone felt the tremors at his home. Picture: Richard Dobson

Emu Plains resident Kelly Tonacia originally thought the vibrations were from nearby construction work, but her husband said the “whole house shook”.

Others took to social media to document their experiences. “My chair started vibrating in South Penrith,” David Hopkins said.

Nerida Gray said: “ We felt it big time at Hazelbrook and that roaring sound was a little scary — now wondering if we will have aftershocks.”

Emu Plains resident Kelly Tonacia originally thought the vibrations were from nearby construction work but her husband said the “whole house shook”.

For 14-year-old cashier Olivia Jones, the earthquake was ‘really exciting.’ She was sitting at home with her family, watching TV, when her house started shaking.

“It was crazy to feel one up here - that’s pretty rare!”, the young shopkeeper said.

One southwest Sydney resident said she initially thought “someone drove though the front” of her house, only to find neighbours in the street “asking wtf just happened”.

Supermarket cashier Olivia Jones. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbine wrote on Facebook that he “felt the foundation of my home shake”.

“I hope everyone is OK,” he wrote.

Some Daily Telegraph readers reported that they felt the ground shake far away as Oberon, in central western NSW.

Another Western Sydney resident said: “The entire house shook here in Emu Heights, we didn’t know what was going on.

“Neighbours were calling out to each other, they couldn’t believe it was an earthquake.”