An Australian geologist has warned a region hit by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake over the weekend could experience more tremors in the coming days.
uncertain
region → warn → days
Geoscience Australia recorded a magnitude 4.8 tremor just after 2am on Saturday, with an epicentre 6km north-east of the Gippsland town of Korumburra.
asserted
Australia → record → Korumburra
It was one of the strongest earthquakes the region has reported in two decades.
asserted
region → report → decades
Dr Dee Ninis from Monash University on Saturday explained the event changed where 'stress' accumulated in the earth's crust.
asserted
stress → explain → crust
That could result in several more shakes in the next days, or weeks, as the ground readjusts.
uncertain
ground → result → days
'Aftershocks associated with this morning's earthquake are expected to continue over the next few days to weeks,' Dr Ninis told 7News.
asserted
Ninis → associate → 7News
'Generally, these earthquakes will become smaller and less frequent with time.
asserted
earthquakes → become → time
'However, as with all aftershock sequences, there is a chance that an earthquake of similar magnitude or larger may occur.'
uncertain
earthquake → be → magnitude
Dr Dee Ninis (above), a geologist from Monash University, explained more earthquake could occur after a large quake near Korumburra on Saturday morning
uncertain
earthquake → explain → morning
The 4.8 tremor hit just after 2am on Saturday, with an epicentre (above) 6km north-east of the Gippsland town of Korumburra
More than 100 aftershocks have been recorded from the initial event, which was strong enough to shake some residents awake.
asserted
which → hit → residents
'The windows shook and the whole house creaked.
asserted
house → shake → ?
I couldn't sleep after that one.
asserted
I → sleep → one
Scary, scary,' Caulfield South resident Jane Barnes told The Age.
asserted
Barnes → tell → Age
Another resident, Michelle Wade, said she woke up to her apartment in Armadale shaking.
asserted
she → say → Armadale
'I could hear things falling down hitting the apartment floor above me,' she said.
'
uncertain
she → hear → me
It's not something you expect when you're sleeping.
asserted
you → expect → ?
It definitely took me a while to settle my nerves.
asserted
It → take → nerves
'
Geoscience Australia had received more than 16,000 reports from people who felt the quake by 3am.
asserted
who → receive → 3
More than 21,000 eventually reported feeling the tremor, including in Melbourne about 120km from the epicentre.
asserted
21,000 → report → epicentre
The initial earthquake hit at a depth of 10km.
asserted
earthquake → hit → km
Dr Ninis warned Korumburra (above) and the surrounding area could see more activity as the earth adjusts to new stress points caused by the earthquake
If caught in an earthquake, Victoria SES advises to drop, cover and hold on.
uncertain
SES → warn → earthquake
'Drop to the ground, take cover by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture, and hold on (to your cover) until the shaking stops,' it states.
asserted
it → drop → cover
Those in wheelchairs should lock their brakes in place.
asserted
Those → lock → place
The Gippsland region experienced similar earthquakes in 2009, a magnitude 4.7 quake, and 2011, magnitude 4.4.
asserted
region → experience → 2009
However, elsewhere Victoria has seen strong earthquakes more recently.
asserted
Victoria → see → earthquakes
A 5.0 magnitude earthquake hit near the Great Ocean Road, south-west of Melbourne, in October 2023.
asserted
earthquake → hit → October
Woods Point, 178km northwest of Melbourne, saw an even stronger shake in September 2021 at magnitude 5.9.
asserted
Point → see → magnitude
The Aporia
