SOME said it sounded like an explosion, others said it was more like a rumble, while one person thought a truck had just crashed – this week’s earthquake sure left people talking.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 2.6 magnitude tremor struck at 5.39pm on Wednesday around 15 kilometres south-east of Bathurst.
The quake struck right on the Earth’s surface at a location midway between Brewongle and Wambool, data from Geoscience Australia (GA) shows.
It was the 12th earthquake recorded within 50 kilometres of Bathurst during the past decade, a GA seismologist stated.
The largest occurred on October 22, 2010 and was a magnitude 2.9.
Terri-Ann Press was among many Western Advocate readers who took to Facebook to report that they had felt the tremor.
“Huge boom under foot. Thought a truck had crashed and exploded on the road. Crazy feeling,” she said.
I thought a massive canon ball had struck the side of my house. Loud deep thud with vibrations through my house. A bit heart-stopping as you could imagine.
- Mark Pana
While Yetholme resident Jenny Turner posted to Facebook that her “house shook and rattled [I] thought it was an explosion”.
Mark Pana said: “I thought a massive canon ball had struck the side of my house. Loud deep thud with vibrations through my house. A bit heart-stopping as you could imagine”.
Another reader, Claire Day-Night, wrote: “We are O’Connell residents and less than one kilometre from [the] epicentre and very loud here”.
Bathurst Police also took to Facebook to advise the community that they had been contacted by several concerned residents who had reported loud noises and movement in the area.
The post said officers had received calls from residents living in: Glanmire, Brewongle, O’Connell, Yetholme and Napoleon Reef areas.
“The callers advised of hearing noises similar to explosions and their residences shaking,” a post to the Chifley Police District Facebook page stated.
“There were no calls regarding damage to property or injury.
“Police have responded to the locations and made patrols of the areas but no damage was observed.”
Other readers posted to the Advocate’s Facebook page that they also felt the tremor in Wisemans Creek, Peel, Kelso, Yetholme, Wiagdon, Eglinton, White Rock and Meadow Flat.
Shane Carpenter wrote: “I thought a cattle truck was coming up my driveway doing 100ks [sic] but then the ground shook. Also [living in] Yetholme”.
While one reader, Diane Metcalfe-Agustin, said she heard the rumble all the way from South Australia.
“I heard it at Murray Bridge, South Australia. I was on the phone to my sister at Yetholme at the time,” she posted.
Nadine Morton
Nadine Morton covers emergency services and breaking news for the Illawarra Mercury. She takes pride in regional journalism which she believes is crucial to informing our towns and cities. Have a story? Email her at nadine.morton@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Nadine Morton covers emergency services and breaking news for the Illawarra Mercury. She takes pride in regional journalism which she believes is crucial to informing our towns and cities. Have a story? Email her at nadine.morton@austcommunitymedia.com.au
