Geoscience Australia recorded a Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake at a depth of 15 km close to the town of Eidsvold in Queensland State, Australia, slightly before 3.00 am local time on Monday 16 February 2015 (slightly before 4.00 pm on Sunday 15 February, GMT). While there are no reports of any damage or injuries, this was a significant and potentially dangerous event, and was felt across much of southeastern Queensland. A number of smaller aftershocks have been felt since the initial event.
The approximate location of the 16 February 2015 Queensland Earthquake. Google Maps.
Large Earthquakes are rare in Queensland, making it hard to determine their causes. Prior to 1977, when geologists in Australia began to use seismographs to understand Earthquakes, only two Earthquakes had ever been recorded in southern Queensland. Since the introduction of seismographs, 110 tremors have been recorded in the area, most of them to small to have been noticed (or recognized) by human witnesses. Many of these quakes have occurred along a belt running to the east of Bundaberg, from about Gladstone in the north to Gayndah in the south, leading the Geohazards Group of Geoscience Australia to theorize that there may be an undocumented but active fault in the area.
Witness statements can help geologists to understand Earthquakes and the geological processes that cause them; if you felt this quake (or if you were in the area but did not, which is also useful information) you can report it to Geoscience Australia here.
See also...
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A Magnitude 6.5 at a depth of 63 km occurred beneath the interior of western New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea, at 6.30 am on Monday 8 July 2013, local...
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