A 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Hunter Valley area of New South Wales in the early hours of Wednesday morning, waking residents up throughout much of eastern Australia, including areas of Sydney and Canberra.
As per Geoscience Australia, the quake took place at 2:55 am local time about 200km north of Sydney near the town of Singleton at a shallow depth of 10km. It was initially estimated at magnitude 5.1 but was subsequently revised to 4.6.
Although there were no reported injuries or major damage, more than 3,800 people experienced the shaking, with reports received as far away as Canberra and Tamworth. NSW State Emergency Service attended a few calls, such as a water pipe burst at Rutherford that needed sandbagging.
Australia has moderate seismic activity, especially in regions such as the Hunter Valley. The earthquake was “pretty large for Australia” and “significant,” Senior Geoscience Australia seismologist Phil Cummins said.
The epicentre of the quake was around 36km from the location of an old coal-burning power plant at Liddell. The area has been suggested by the federal opposition as one of seven possible locations for a new nuclear power plant and the quake was thus a catalyst for the ongoing energy debate in the country.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has also in the past suggested Liddell as a site for replacing aging coal infrastructure with nuclear power reactors. The earthquake will once again raise questions about the feasibility of constructing nuclear reactors in seismically prone regions.
In Sydney, people in high-rise apartments felt the quake more intensely. Earthquake expert Dr Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi described higher levels of buildings as typically experiencing increased movement in quakes.
Officials said aftershocks could be experienced in the next few days, but none have been recorded to date. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre confirmed that the earthquake did not pose a tsunami threat.
