Arabic version: تسجيل زلزال بقوة 3.9 قرب إنساي
According to ABC News, a magnitude-3.9 earthquake was recorded near Ensay in eastern Victoria at about 9:30pm on Saturday. The epicentre was about 350 kilometres east of Melbourne, and the quake was felt in nearby Swifts Creek in Victoria’s High Country.
Geoscience Australia received 346 reports from people who felt the earthquake. Swifts Creek resident Stephen Richardson said he initially thought a gumtree had landed behind his home before hearing a rumble up the valley. He said there was no damage to his house.
Another Swifts Creek resident, Ray Gallagher, said the shaking rattled his home and made the glass sound. He said he and others initially considered whether lightning had struck a nearby tree because conditions were stormy.
Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Jonathan Griffin said 27 earthquakes had been recorded within 100 kilometres of Ensay over the past decade, but Saturday’s was the most powerful. He said aftershocks could be felt in coming days and weeks, while noting that earthquakes cannot be predicted and a larger event cannot be ruled out.
Dr Griffin said Australia’s position at the centre of a tectonic plate moving about 7 centimetres a year creates compressive stresses from forces at plate boundaries. Those stresses occasionally cause earthquakes in south-eastern Australia.
