Aftershocks felt after magnitude 5.0 earthquakes left thousands without power
- NSW was hit by a 4.7 magnitude earthquake on Friday
- An earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale struck on Saturday.
Residents on Australia’s east coast have been hit by powerful tremors after a 5.0 magnitude earthquake left thousands without power.
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 8km north of Denman, in the Hunter region of New South Wales, just after 6.30am on Saturday at a depth of 9.6km.
This came just hours after a magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck the nearby town of Muswellbrook at 1.10am, followed by another magnitude 2.5 at 2.30am.
Experts warned that aftershocks would follow Friday’s larger quake, with Australians living hours away in Sydney also reporting feeling the tremors.
“Has anyone else felt another quake?” one woman wrote on a community page for residents in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Mining operations were briefly halted after the earthquake struck the Mount Arthur coal mine, just outside Muswellbrook, at 12.01pm on Friday.
A BHP spokesman said several miners were injured in the quake.
“A few team members at Mt Arthur Coal required first aid due to minor injuries from falling objects, but fortunately no one was seriously injured,” he said.
Residents on Australia’s east coast have been hit by powerful tremors after a magnitude 5.0 earthquake (shown on map) left thousands of people without power
Lavis Mitre 10 in Muswellbrook posted a photo of items strewn across the aisles after a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck the town of Denman just after 12pm on Friday
‘Inspections are being conducted on all areas of the site before we safely resume operations. We have offered our support to Muswellbrook Shire Council.’
An area of South Musswellbrook was hit by a power outage following the quake, and damage was reported to a building in the city’s central business district.
Several business owners had to close their businesses all day after debris fell from the ceiling during the earthquake.
More coming soon.