Houses shook and items rattled on store shelves for 30-40 seconds across Noosa on Saturday morning and statewide sent more than 20,000 people to report feeling a magnitude 5.6 earthquake.
Geoscience Australia’s National Earthquake Alerts Centre recorded the earthquake at 9.49am local time.
The earthquake was felt widely across Queensland and New South Wales, from Cairns to Wollongong.
Seismologist Michelle Salmon said it was the largest onshore Queensland event in the last 50 years.
The earthquake centre was recorded 80km from Noosa and 40km from Gympie, with the closest town being Kilkivan and at a depth of 10km.
“An earthquake of this size can cause damage,” Ms Salmon said.
She advised people to get in touch with State Emergency Services (SES) if they experienced damage at their place and what they should do in the event of an earthquake.
“If you feel an earthquake you should drop, cover and hold on. What that means, you should get down, get under something solid so nothing falls on you and hold on until the shaking stops,” she said.
“When the shaking stops go on Geoscience Australia Earthquakes Alert Centre and report the event.
“Reports are really important because they provide us information about where the worst shaking has occurred, gives information to the State Emergency Services, and information to Geoscience Australia for hazard modelling for the future.”
Felt reports provide situational awareness to Australian emergency management agencies. They also inform Geoscience Australia’s hazard modelling, which helps keep Australians safer.
“We can certainly expect more aftershocks from this event,” Ms Salmon said.
SES Noosa received no reports of damage from the earthquake.
A Peregian Beach lifeguard said there was no movement on the beach to indicate an earthquake on Saturday morning and had occurred but he had been informed there was no threat of a tsunami.
The last notable earthquake to be felt in Noosa was in July 2015 when a magnitude 5.2 earthquake was recorded by Geoscience Australia with an epicentre about 100km offshore from Fraser Island and at a depth of 30kms.
Earthquake reports can be made via the Earthquakes@GA website.
