Adelaide and surrounding areas shaken by magnitude 3.7 earthquake

Jade Gailberger, Environment reporter, The Advertiser February 2, 2017 2:29pm ‘I thought it was my husband’s snoring!’ How we reacted to the quake Adelaide’s last tremor: The Hills were jolted in 2014 The city was also shaken in April 2010 Adelaide’s 1954 earthquake: Where the faults lie Bigger quake to come, says expert SOUTH Australia was rattled by a shallow earthquake in the early hours of Thursday morning. The magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck at a depth of 8km near Murray Bridge at around 12.07am on Wednesday, according to automated data from Geoscience Australia. Countless people across South Australia felt the quake or were jolted awake, but only minor cracking damage was reported and the Murray Bridge SES did not receive any calls for assistance. Geoscience Australia seismologist Hugh Glanville said the impact of the earthquake was felt over a length of 100km, from Victor Harbor through Adelaide to just north of Kapunda. In the past decade there have been 28 earthquakes reported within the same 100km stretch, while more than 895 have been felt across South Australia. “It’s one of the more active areas in Australia, and SA has had some of the more recent big earthquakes,” Mr Glanville said. TELL US: Did the earth move for you? Tell us if you felt the quake in the comments box below, and send any damage pics to us via advertiserpics@adv.newsltd.com.au A large earthquake is defined as anything over a magnitude 5. The last of this size was near the SA and Northern Territory border in 2012, measuring magnitude 5.4. This earthquake was medium-sized (magnitude 3 to 5) — enough to wake people but not big enough to cause serious damage to buildings. “It is rare for a small to medium earthquake to cause damage,” Mr Glanville said. “You can have cracks that are then made bigger by the earthquake. “Sometimes you might be the unlucky person whose house or farm house is directly on top of the fault line ... even then it’s generally minor.” The epicentre of the 3.7 magnitude earthquake on Thursday morning. Picture: Geoscience Australia Some South Australians reported feeling a swaying and rocking motion. Mr Glanville said this feeling was common when the primary and follow-up waves from the quake move in opposite directions, creating a compressional wave like a spring moving back and forth. He said Australia generally experiences “shallow” earthquakes because of its position on the plate boundaries. South Australia and the area around Murray Bridge are deemed quite “active” quake areas, and several small earthquakes — under magnitude 3 — have been recorded across the state since January 2. 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When an earthquake occurred a few years ago, Lisa Lemon, 39, from Modbury found the tremors caused cracks right through her concrete. After Wednesday night’s quake, Ms Lemon found the gap in the concrete had expanded by a centimetre. “I thought it might have been possums in the roof, and then it started going a bit more rumbly ... and then the whole wall just shook,” she said. “My lounge is next to it and the lounge started to shake as well.” The quake cracked this wall in Andrew Green’s Bull Creek cottage. Andrew Green was in bed at his 150-year-old cottage at Bull Creek, between Meadows and Strathalbyn, when he “thought people were running across the roof”. “The rumbling and shaking rattled the whole place, going from one end of the house to the other,” he said. The front wall of his house was cracked, a column from his pergola shifted and the slate floor was cracked. The quake also triggered a massive reaction on Advertiser.com.au and our Facebook page. Our two Facebook posts — the first at 12.27am and a follow-up at 6.06am — reached a combined total of nearly 300,000 people by midday on Thursday, with thousands of reactions and comments. Another minor earthquakes — bring on the humorous memes. Angela Moro in Banksia Park wrote, “felt like a roller coaster went through the house”. “Thought it was an explosion, woke us both up,” Yvonne Marshall wrote. “Had it here in Nairne frightened the you know what out of me,” wrote Maureen Watkins. “Felt it in Andrews Farm. Shook me from left to right about 5 times. Woke my 2 yr old up as well!” said Emily Pollock. Rhonda Charman wrote: “My daughter was texting me when the earthquake hit Salisbury East at 12:15am. She thought someone was on the roof.” Yvonne Butters said: “I thought I was having a vertigo episode at first, but then realised what it was. Wouldn’t want anything bigger thank you!” But at least some people found the funnier side of getting shaken awake. Becky Boots wrote on Facebook: “I believe it happened due to Adelaide watching the premiere of “fifty shades of grey” and acting out scenes in the film causing the earthquake.” Small earthquakes are common in South Australia. On January 6, 2014, the Adelaide Hills and parts of the plains were shaken by a magnitude 2.6 earthquake with an epicentre near Aberfoyle Park and Happy Valley just before 8.30am, with reports of another tremor shortly after. But despite the ground shaking and windows rattling there were no reports of damage. In October 19, 2011, a 3.4 magnitude quake with an epicentre near Blackwood shook the city. And a magnitude 3.8 quake with an epicentre near Mount Barker rattled Adelaide on April 16, 2010. The most significant earthquake to hit South Australia was in 1954, measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale.