With Australia experiencing on average 100 earthquakes above magnitude 3.0 every year, Geoscience Australia is encouraging people to practice earthquake safety as part of Earth Science Week, happening now.
The Great ShakeOut is an international earthquake safety drill to teach people how to stay safe during earthquakes.
Geoscience Australia research after the 2021 magnitude 5.9 Woods Point earthquake in Victoria showed only 3 per cent of people followed safety advice, while 48 per cent of people took no action to protect themselves.
What to do
If you feel the ground start to shake, drop to the ground, seek cover under a sturdy table and protect your head and neck, and hold on until the shaking stops. After you are safe, submit a felt report to the Earthquakes@GA website. The more felt reports, the better our understanding about the earthquake, helping authorities prioritise where they may need to assess damage.
Earthquakes@GA is one of the services Geoscience Australia delivers through our National Earthquake Alerts Centre that operates 24-hours a day to provide rapid alerts of significant earthquakes and tsunami in Australia and overseas.
Geoscience Australia Chief Executive Officer Melissa Harris says knowing where to get trustworthy and reliable information is critical to community confidence during emergencies.
‘While they aren’t common, large earthquakes can and do happen in Australia. Geoscience Australia monitors for earthquakes all day and night as the government’s trusted source of Earth science information and advice,’ she said.
‘The more we know about the ground beneath our feet, the better prepared we can be as a community to build resilience and prepare for the earthquake risk across Australia.”’
Geoscience Australia Seismologist Dr Michelle Salmon says it is vital for everyone to know how to keep safe in an earthquake.
‘The best science cannot yet predict or control when and how the ground is going to shake in an earthquake but, if prepared, we can limit the impact. The Great ShakeOut is an opportunity to practice what you would do during an earthquake.’
Quake history
The largest recorded earthquake in Australia was a magnitude 6.6 at Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, in 1988. Two earthquakes over magnitude 6 were recorded in the lead up to the main earthquake.
The 1989 magnitude 5.6 Newcastle earthquake was one of Australia’s most significant natural disasters. The earthquake killed 13 people and left 160 people injured and requiring hospitalisation.
In more recent times, more than 50 aftershocks have been recorded in the year since a magnitude 4.7 earthquake near Muswellbrook in NSW on 23 August 2024.
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