Victoria Rumbles With 3rd Quake in a Month

Australia has recorded more than one earthquake a week during 2024, with Victoria being rocked by a 3.4 magnitude quake on Aug. 29.

An image shared by Victoria State Emergency Services shows the location of the latest quake.

Victoria has been shaken up by a third earthquake in less than a month, following a trend of regular seismic activity across Australia.

The most recent was a 3.4 magnitude earthquake at Hamilton around 5 a.m. on Aug. 29.

“A magnitude 3.4 earthquake at a 3 kilometres depth has been recorded this morning, with an epicentre at Hamilton,” the Victoria State Emergency Service said.

The quake didn’t cause any major damage and only a handful of reports were made.

It was, however, slightly stronger than the magnitude 3.0 quake that hit the southern Gippsland region on Aug. 26.

There was then the Aug. 7 earthquake in Victoria’s high country that registered 4.2.

Victoria isn’t the only state that’s shaking all over, though.

Musewellbrook near Newcastle in New South Wales had a 4.8 magnitude earthquake on Aug. 24, which was felt by more than 600 people.

The Muswellbrook quake resulted in power outages in part of the area north of Sydney, while some also had interruptions to water supply.

A Geoscience Australia report confirmed the earthquake occurred at a depth of 10-kilometres underground.

The event was felt by many residents who said their homes felt like they were moving, while products in a local Mitre 10 were thrown from shelves.

Just one day before, a 5.0 magnitude quake was felt at Denman, three hours’ north of Sydney.

Thousands of people reported the Denman event, and its subsequent tremors.

Western and South Australia have also experienced quakes between magnitude 2.0 and 4.8 during August.

Australia’s Seismology Research Centre has recorded 42 quakes since the start of the year.

The sudden influx of activity has led some to question whether the country was becoming more prone to seismic events.

Earthquakes Downunder researcher David Belford explained on social media that quake numbers across Australia were “all quite normal,” however, he said there was an increase in the likelihood of higher magnitude quakes predicted for the United States and Japan in coming years.

“As for Australia, both sides getting similar activity is something new, which we’re keeping our eyes on,” he said.

“There is a high chance both regions may see more magnitude four (or greater) earthquakes.

“It’s best just to keep observing worldwide seismic activity to get a better idea of what may or may not come.”