Magnitude 3.8 Earthquake Jolts Great Ocean Road Region

Residents along Victoria's scenic south-west coastline experienced a jolt this afternoon as a magnitude-3.8 earthquake registered on local seismographs. The tremor occurred around 1:40 PM, with its epicentre located near the iconic Great Ocean Road, between the popular tourist destinations of Apollo Bay and Port Campbell.

According to data from Geoscience Australia, the earthquake originated at a depth of approximately 10 kilometres. The agency received over 60 reports from individuals who felt the earth move, with tremors extending as far as the regional centres of Ballarat and Geelong, and even reaching parts of Melbourne.

Many residents in the immediate vicinity of Apollo Bay took to social media to describe their experiences. Helena Hunt, a resident of Ferguson located about 60 kilometres east of Port Campbell in the Otways, recounted how her entire house "violently shook" for several seconds. "I just thought, 'What the hell was that?'" Ms Hunt shared, noting it was only the second time in her life she had felt an earthquake.

Understanding Earthquakes in Australia

Seismologists emphasize that earthquakes are more common in Australia than many realize, though they are typically smaller in magnitude compared to those experienced in regions like New Zealand or Japan. Michelle Salmon, a seismologist with Geoscience Australia, explained that while the area near the Otways has seen a few seismic events, they are not as frequent as in other parts of the continent. Australia is situated within the Indo-Australian tectonic plate, not on its boundary, but geological stresses within the Earth's crust can still lead to seismic activity.

"There could be a stress that's been there for a long time and it's just sitting there; something small can happen, and the earthquake will pop off," Ms Salmon elaborated on the mechanisms behind these events. She referenced the largest recorded earthquake in Australia's history, a magnitude-6.6 event near Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory during the 1980s, which caused significant damage to infrastructure, including a major gas pipeline.