Geoscience Australia recorded
a Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake at a depth of 5 km off the coast of the town of Bowen in Queensland State, Australia, slightly after 5.10 pm local
time (slightly after 7.10 am GMT) on Wednesday 15 April 2020. While there are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with event, and was felt on the coast of Queensland between Townsville and Mackay..
The approximate location of the 15 April 2020 Queensland Earthquake. USGS.
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, many 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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