The 100 million-year-old reason this part of Australia has more earthquakes
News Source
β’Mon, 5 Oct 2026 18:34:55 +0000
π° What Happened
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck just after 2am on Saturday near Arawata in Victoria. That is about 6km from Korumburra and 100km southeast of Melbourne.
People close to the centre heard a loud bang and felt houses and windows rattle. The shake woke people as far away as Shepparton, Ballarat and Warrnambool.
Geoscience Australia received more than 21,000 reports within hours. Hundreds of small aftershocks followed, the largest a magnitude 3.1.
π The Backstory
Australia sits in the middle of a tectonic plate, far from most earthquake zones. But quakes still happen here.
Gippsland in Victoria has more quakes than most places in the country. About 100 million years ago, the Earth's crust stretched and cracked, helping form the Gippsland Basin.
In the last 100 years, Gippsland has had about ten quakes as big as this one, or larger. That is roughly one every decade.
π― Why It Matters
Knowing why some areas shake more can help towns build safer and prepare. It also explains why Victoria feels quakes that surprise other Australians.
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck just after 2am on Saturday near Arawata in Victoria. That is about 6km from Korumburra and 100km southeast of Melbourne.
People close to the centre heard a loud bang and felt houses and windows rattle. The shake woke people as far away as Shepparton, Ballarat and Warrnambool.
Geoscience Australia received more than 21,000 reports within hours. Hundreds of small aftershocks followed, the largest a magnitude 3.1.
Australia sits in the middle of a tectonic plate, far from most earthquake zones. But quakes still happen here.
Gippsland in Victoria has more quakes than most places in the country. About 100 million years ago, the Earth's crust stretched and cracked, helping form the Gippsland Basin.
In the last 100 years, Gippsland has had about ten quakes as big as this one, or larger. That is roughly one every decade.
Knowing why some areas shake more can help towns build safer and prepare. It also explains why Victoria feels quakes that surprise other Australians.