Residents south of Cairns rattled as region records its largest earthquake in decades
Lynn Chen
Posted on 09 Feb 2022
Main points
- An earthquake measuring 3.9 magnitude was recorded just after midday
- The epicentre was in the Coral Sea, just over 50 kilometres off Yarrabah
- Residents in and around Innisfail were most impacted by shaking buildings but no damage has been reported
An earthquake measuring 3.9 magnitude has shaken homes and people, particularly south of Cairns.
The quake was measured in the Coral Sea 66 kilometres east-south-east of Cairns and 51 kilometres east of Yarrabah, just after midday.
Those most affected by the tremors were in the Innisfail region but there have been no reports of damage.
“Heard it coming and felt the shaking, windows rattled,” Vasa Views resident Delia Cordwell said, while Joan Zappala felt the earth move at Gordonvale.
“I kind of felt myself sway a bit, thought it was me tripping over myself,” she joked.
Others heard the quake but didn’t feel it.
“Actually, it sounded and left more like a truck going past but almost muffled.”
Seismologist Dr Hadi Ghasemi from Geoscience Australia told Tropic Now it’s common for people to hear a quake before they feel it.
“It’s a compression of wave, so when it reaches the surface of the earth it transmits to the air and it’s like a sonic wave,” he said.
Credit: Geoscience Australia
A tsunami warning has not been issued, with Dr Ghasemi predicting it’s highly unlikely for a wave to be caused by a tremor of this size.
He also doesn’t expect there will be any coral damage.
The quake was 10 kilometres deep, which is classed as shallow.
It was initially recorded as 3.6 magnitude, which was upgraded to 3.9 as more data became available.
According to Dr Ghasemi, that means it’s the largest earthquake recorded in the Cairns region in two decades.
“Over the past 20 years we’ve had 16 events, all small,” he said.
“Five were above magnitude three and the largest one was this one.”
He said the earthquake was caused by a build-up of stress as the Australian tectonic plate moves north-east.
SOURCE : https://www.tropicnow.com.au/2022/february/6/residents-south-of-cairns-rattled-as-region-records-its-largest-earthquake-in-decades
