Grey nomads travelling around Australia have got to be prepared for just about anything. Besides the dangers of crocodiles, snakes and spiders, there are bushfires, floods and cyclones to look out for … as well as the odd earthquake!
The country’s biggest earthquake in 15 years rattled Aboriginal townships near Ernabella, in South Australia’s far north, late last week.
Those living near the epicentre of the 6.1-magnitude quake 300 kilometres or so south west of Alice Springs, reported the quake lasting 30 second, but causing no injuries. People in the area are still bracing for possible aftershocks.
According to Geoscience Australia the shallow earthquake was caused by the release of stress from the earth’s crust, built up as the Indian-Australiantectonic plate moves, squeezing South Australia sideways by about 0.1 millimetre a year.
On average, there are about 200 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or more in Australia each year and one earthquake above magnitude 5.5 about every two years. A 5.6-magnitude earthquake that hit Newcastle, New South Wales in 1989 killed 13 people.
Australia’s largest recorded earthquake, meantime, hit Meeberrie, in central-west Western Australia, in 1941 with a magnitude of 7.3, but there were no fatalities.
