Outback SA braces for quake aftershocks

Climate chaos0

Outback SA braces for quake aftershocks

Updated March 24, 2012 14:47:51

Residents in South Australia’s far north-west are bracing for more aftershocks after a large earthquake shook the Aboriginal townships last night.

The 6.1 magnitude earthquake – the second largest to be recorded in South Australia – hit about 8:25pm (local time) near Ernabella, just south of the Northern Territory border.

Resident Ria Nicholls says houses shook and windows rattled for about 30 seconds.

She says the elderly Aboriginal people on her street were terrified.

“My husband and I just reassured them that it would be fine and it would pass, but they were frightened,” she said.

Garage owner Steve Allen says the quake was the third to hit the region in a week.

“Last week apparently it felt like a truck rumbling through and some people felt the last one but every single one felt this one, it was a lot, lot stronger,” he said.

The local garage owner in Ernabella, Steve Allen, says people ran from their homes when the quake struck.

“First of all – because it gets very windy up here – we thought, my god, the roof is coming off, because it was like a real rumble, our first reaction was to look at the roof and no, that was all right, and so we stuck our head out the door and nothing happening out there wind-wise, so we thought, oh, it must be an earth tremor,” he said.

Geoscience Australia seismologist Hugh Glanville says the earthquake was one of the largest ever recorded in the state.

“In South Australia itself it’s the largest earthquake we’ve recorded since 1902 and for Australia itself it’s the largest earthquake of magnitude six since 1997,” he said.

The quake’s epicentre was 370 kilometres west-north-west of Oodnadatta, just south of the Northern Territory border.

There have been no reports of damage, despite the quake being felt nearly 400 kilometres away.

Geoscience Australia has reported its depth at 3 kilometres.

Topics:earthquake, ernabella-872, sa

First posted March 24, 2012 14:43:27

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