Earthquakes shakes Muswellbrook and Denman in the Hunter Valley
Earthquake tremors were recorded in two Hunter Valley suburbs on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.
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Hunter Valley locals felt tremors hit the region on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning with earthquakes recorded in Muswellbrook and Denman.
Geoscience Australia reported activity at 3.27pm at Muswellbrook on Monday, with a 3.8 magnitude earthquake.
It happened 5km south of the mining town and was felt by a number of local residents.
“I felt vibrations and a bang,” one local said.
Another said they had felt a tremor and screamed because they didn’t realise what it was.
Geoscience seismologist Hadi Ghasemi said given the size of the earthquake, it would have probably been felt up to 40km away.
“So far we have received more than 200 reports and it is increasing,” he said.
“In the area since 2000, there has been more than 100 earthquakes, some as low as 1.5, so they are really common.
“Earthquakes are really complex in nature so usually when you have one you can expect some after shocks to follow, some smaller earthquakes.”
Neighbouring town Denman also got a shock, with a 4.4 earthquake registering on the richter scale at 4.29pm.
A couple of hours later another earthquake struck Denman, this time of 2.9 magnitude.
And early Tuesday, at 4.14am Muswellbrook locals felt more tremors with a 3.0 earthquake.
Last time an earthquake registered in Muswellbrook was in September, which was recorded as a 2.5 on the richter scale in the early hours of the morning.
2.5 or less is usually not felt, but can be recorded by seismograph, while those between 2.5 to 5.4 are often felt, but only cause minor damage.