Earthquakes in Australia
Because of its location on the Ring of Fire, the geographic term for the Pacific Ocean ring that causes high amounts of seismic activity, the country of Australia is prone to having earthquakes. Earthquakes can occur anywhere in the country, many of them being as high as a 7.5 magnitude quake according the to Australian Earthquake Engineering Society.
The regions most affected by earthquakes include the states of Western
and South Australia. In Western Australia, the region known as the
wheatbelt, which is the region that consists of the agricultural lands
in metro Perth, have high amounts of seismic activity. In South
Australia, the Flinders Ranges, which are the largest mountains in South
Australia, are the location of many earthquakes. Luckily, the Flinders
Ranges is approximately 120 miles north west of the major city of
Adelaide.
The Australian Earthquake Engineering Society has recorded earthquakes
in Australia all the way back to the mid-1800s. Many of the earthquakes
have occurred off the shores of Australia, which does put the country in
danger of tsunamis or large waves hitting the shores. The largest
earthquake ever recorded in Australia occurred in Meeberrie in Western
Australia. This earthquake hit a magnitude of 7.3.
The worst earthquake in Australian history, however, did not hit a
typical location. In the state of New South Wales, which lies on the
country's east coast, the city of Newcastle experienced a 5.6 earthquake
on December 28th, 1989. The result was horrific, with $1.8 billion in
US dollars worth in damages and 13 people killed.
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