Tremors have reverberated in Australia’s “Top End” following a 7.6 magnitude undersea earthquake near Indonesia’s Tanimbar Islands, east of Timor-Leste.
The quake struck early on Jan. 10 with the epicentre located around 90 kilometres or 55.9 miles underwater.
Residents in the capital city of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Australia reported “violent” shaking of their homes and houses.
“Everything was banging and shaking, the doors were shaking, I thought the house was going to fall apart,” Tracey Wedel told AAP.
“It was literally the strongest [earthquake] I’ve ever felt. Dogs up the street were barking, and it went on for about two and a half minutes.”
Meanwhile, former Olympian and former Senator Nova Peris said the incident was “freaking scary.”
Geosciences Australia has reported in a post on Twitter that over 2,800 people in the region described feeling the quake to the government body.
Natasha Fyles, the chief minister of the Northern Territory, has warned residents in the region to be aware of the potential for aftershocks.
The earthquake was also felt in Nhulunbuy in northeast Arnhem Land all the way down to Tenant Creek in the centre of the Northern Territory.
Senior Duty Seismologist Tanja Pejic described the seismic event as “pretty significant.”
“It’s quite possible that we will see aftershocks along those magnitudes of maybe five or larger that might still be felt, although I suspect it wouldn’t be felt as widely as the 7.6 earthquake,” she told AAP.
She said anyone caught up in an earthquake should drop to the ground, cover their head, and crawl under any kind of shelter, including tables.
