Australian Earthquakes
New Castle, 1989
Australia is not prone to earthquakes but we do get tremors here and there. There has been a few very destructive earthquakes, but not many.
A major earthquake that struck an area of Australia, would be the New Castle earthquake. New Castle is a metropolitan area in New South wales, and on Thursday the 28th December, 1989, was struck by an earthquake, and is considered one of Australia's most serious natural disasters. This shock wave was measuered a 5.6 on the RItcher Magnitude Scale, wounding hundreds, and causing a great deal of destruction and chaos.
Damages of buildings and facilities were reported over 200,000 square kilometres, with isolated reports of movement from up to 800 kilometres for New Castle. The earthquake destroyed more than 35,000 homes, 150 schools, and 300 buildings were completely demolished. Due to this crisis, roughly 400 people were placed in temporary accommodations, and during the month following the earthquake, over 14,000 people were assisted by the Disaster Welfare Rocovery Centre. The earthquake overall affected over 300,000 people, and 1,000 were left homeless.
The majority of the death tolls occured at the Newcastle Workers Club (as seen in the slideshow), where the floor firstly collapsed, killing 9 people and injuring many. On Beaumont Street, another 3 were killed, being crushed to death under collapsed awnings, and another was killed from an earthquake-related shock, having raised the final death tolls to 13.
A major earthquake that struck an area of Australia, would be the New Castle earthquake. New Castle is a metropolitan area in New South wales, and on Thursday the 28th December, 1989, was struck by an earthquake, and is considered one of Australia's most serious natural disasters. This shock wave was measuered a 5.6 on the RItcher Magnitude Scale, wounding hundreds, and causing a great deal of destruction and chaos.
Damages of buildings and facilities were reported over 200,000 square kilometres, with isolated reports of movement from up to 800 kilometres for New Castle. The earthquake destroyed more than 35,000 homes, 150 schools, and 300 buildings were completely demolished. Due to this crisis, roughly 400 people were placed in temporary accommodations, and during the month following the earthquake, over 14,000 people were assisted by the Disaster Welfare Rocovery Centre. The earthquake overall affected over 300,000 people, and 1,000 were left homeless.
The majority of the death tolls occured at the Newcastle Workers Club (as seen in the slideshow), where the floor firstly collapsed, killing 9 people and injuring many. On Beaumont Street, another 3 were killed, being crushed to death under collapsed awnings, and another was killed from an earthquake-related shock, having raised the final death tolls to 13.
Meckering, 1968
In Western Australia is a town called Meckering, which is east of Perth. On 14th October, 1968, Meckering was destroyed by an earthquake. Although this earthquake was not the largest in Western Australia, it certainly was the most significant in terms of damage dealt and cultural upheaving. This earthquake measured a high 6.9, on the Ritcher Magnitude Scale, making it one of Australia's largest recorded seismic in history.
This earthquake was lockated in Meckering, which is located in a documented zone of seismic acitivity, which is the most active region in Australia. This area is centred roughly 150 kilometres east of Perth, and is commonly known as SWSZ, South West Seismic Zone. As specified by Geoscience Australia (AGSO), more than 12,000 earthquakes have been recorded in this region since 2001 September, with the majority of these events being aftershocks of larger events.
The earthquake overall lasted roughly 40 to 45 seconds, and was felt over an area of 700 kilometers in radius. The earthquake's force was so great, it was said to be equivilent to 10 Hiroshima type atomic bombs, having a quake focus of 7 meters deep. Although no deaths were caused, there were still roughly 20 to 25 injuries. The numbers of injuries were reduced, due to the fact that the earthquake took place during a public holiday.
The aftermath of the earthquake was tremendous, having a repair fee exceeding 5 million (in 1968 currency), and the earthquake caused significant damage to buildings nearby. A main damage that can be seen to this day, is an area where the ground had ruptered nearly 40 kilometers long.
This earthquake was lockated in Meckering, which is located in a documented zone of seismic acitivity, which is the most active region in Australia. This area is centred roughly 150 kilometres east of Perth, and is commonly known as SWSZ, South West Seismic Zone. As specified by Geoscience Australia (AGSO), more than 12,000 earthquakes have been recorded in this region since 2001 September, with the majority of these events being aftershocks of larger events.
The earthquake overall lasted roughly 40 to 45 seconds, and was felt over an area of 700 kilometers in radius. The earthquake's force was so great, it was said to be equivilent to 10 Hiroshima type atomic bombs, having a quake focus of 7 meters deep. Although no deaths were caused, there were still roughly 20 to 25 injuries. The numbers of injuries were reduced, due to the fact that the earthquake took place during a public holiday.
The aftermath of the earthquake was tremendous, having a repair fee exceeding 5 million (in 1968 currency), and the earthquake caused significant damage to buildings nearby. A main damage that can be seen to this day, is an area where the ground had ruptered nearly 40 kilometers long.