By Alice Klein
Damaged gathering successful Melbourne, Australia connected 22 September aft a 5.9 magnitude earthquake WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images
The authorities of Victoria, Australia, was shaken by its biggest onshore earthquake successful recorded past connected 22 September. Some buildings were damaged but nary 1 was earnestly hurt.
The magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck astatine 9:15am section time, according to Geoscience Australia. The epicentre was successful the Alpine National Park astir 120 kilometres eastbound of Melbourne, astatine a shallow extent of astir 10 kilometres.
People successful Melbourne, who are presently successful a covid-19 lockdown, reported feeling the crushed shingle for 15 to 20 seconds. Tremors were besides felt successful Canberra, conscionable implicit 300 kilometres north-east of the epicentre.
A tiny fig of buildings successful Melbourne partially collapsed and powerfulness outages occurred successful immoderate parts of the city, but nary large harm oregon superior injuries person been reported.
This is acknowledgment to the epicentre occurring successful a comparatively distant region, says Dee Ninis astatine the Seismology Research Centre successful Melbourne. “We’re truly fortunate it wasn’t successful a populated area,” she says
Australia experiences comparatively fewer earthquakes due to the fact that it sits successful the mediate of a tectonic plate, says Meghan Miller astatine the Australian National University successful Canberra. “Countries similar New Zealand, Indonesia and Japan are much astatine hazard due to the fact that they beryllium connected sheet boundaries,” she says. “But it is simply a communal fallacy that earthquakes don’t hap successful Australia.”
One of Australia’s worst earthquakes was a magnitude 5.6 earthquake successful Newcastle successful New South Wales successful 1989, which caused extended harm and killed 13 people.
Earthquakes hap successful Australia erstwhile the tectonic sheet that it sits connected rubs against others and accent is dilatory transmitted done the plate, yet starring to a unit build-up that causes a responsibility wrong the sheet to rupture, says Phil Cummins, besides astatine the Australian National University.
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake occurred successful a akin portion of Victoria successful 1966, suggesting it whitethorn beryllium an country that is prone to rupturing erstwhile accent gradually builds up, says Cummins.
A magnitude 4.1 aftershock was recorded 15 minutes aft this morning’s earthquake, but Cummins expects determination volition beryllium nary much large aftershocks. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has besides deemed that determination is nary tsunami risk.
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