News Earthquake information for media outlets

In the event of a significant earthquake, ŮŮÊÓƵwill provide up-to-date information for the public and media outlets in a timely manner. This includes interview opportunities or prepared grabs from a Senior Seismologist for use across television, radio, print and web.

For information about recent earthquakes visit the website. ŮŮÊÓƵencourages people who, at any time, felt an earthquake to lodge a felt report through the website. This data is used to create a FeltGrid; a near-real-time map of publicly reported shaking intensity from an earthquake. FeltGrids are used by emergency managers to increase their awareness of the earthquake situation when coordinating an emergency response. FeltGrids can also be used by the media to see how widely spread an earthquake was felt.

For media enquiries, please reach out to the ŮŮÊÓƵmedia team on 1800 882 035 or email media@ga.gov.au with your request and deadline.

Please note that during significant earthquake events, there may be a delay in a media advisor getting back to you.

For more general information about earthquakes in Australia visit our Earthquakes page.

How to report on Australian earthquakes accurately:

Earthquakes are more common than you think. On average two earthquakes above magnitude 3.0 occur each week somewhere in Australia.

Most create only minor ground-shaking or happen in a remote area with sparse populations. Large earthquakes above magnitude 5.0, such as the destructive 1989 Newcastle earthquake, are recorded on average every one-to-two years.

What happened to the Richter scale?

The size of earthquakes in Australia is typically reported as MLa (local Australian magnitude), which is a measurement calibrated to how earthquake waves travel through the Australian crust. The magnitude scale used is published on the earthquake information on the webpage.

Magnitudes for events overseas are reported with a range of magnitude types depending on a variety of factors such as the energy emitted during the earthquake, its location and available station data.

The best way to refer to an earthquake is to simply refer to ‘magnitude X.X’, which removes the ambiguity on which magnitude type is preferred.

For example, Australia's largest recorded earthquake was in 1988 at Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, with an estimated magnitude of 6.6.

The MLa is determined by measuring the amplitude of the seismic waves recorded on at least three seismometers and substituting this amplitude into an equation together with the distance of the seismometers from the earthquake. This number will vary from station to station, and the original reported magnitude may change as additional data becomes available and is analysed.

For every one unit increase in magnitude, there is roughly a thirty-fold increase in the energy released. For example: A magnitude 6.0 earthquake releases approximately 30 times more energy than a magnitude 5.0 earthquake, while a magnitude 7.0 earthquake releases approximately 900 times (30×30) more energy than a magnitude 5.0.

The Richter scale is no longer in common use in Australia given it is not calibrated to how seismic waves travel through Australian continental crust. It is also due to limitations in accurately representing the magnitude of larger earthquakes recorded on modern seismometers.

What should you do during an earthquake?

It is impossible to predict when an earthquake will happen. If you feel the ground start to shake the advice is to drop, cover and hold on until it is safe.

Drop — Get on the floor fast.

Cover – Your head with an arm and move under a table or sturdy piece of furniture to protect yourself from falling objects. If there is no cover available, move next to an interior wall and protect your head and neck with your arms.

Hold on – stay in place until the shaking stops and you are sure it is safe to exit.

For more details on including options for people with mobility issues - visit your local State Emergency Service (SES) website.