In short:
Geoscience Australia has recorded nine earthquakes in Gippsland in the nine days to start October.
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Australia → record → October
A magnitude-3.2 earthquake was felt in Leongatha on Wednesday evening, days after a magnitude-4.9 quake hit near Leongatha.
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quake → feel → Leongatha
Emergency services are encouraging residents to be prepared in the event another quake hits the region.
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quake → encourage → region
An earthquake scientist says there is nothing unusual about the number of earthquakes recorded in Gippsland in the past nine days.
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scientist → say → days
Gippsland has been hit by nine earthquakes in the nine days of October, starting with the magnitude-4.9 quake that rocked the region on Saturday.
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that → hit → Saturday
That earthquake came one week after a magnitude-3.9 earthquake was recorded at Ensay, in eastern Victoria, which at the time was labelled the most powerful recorded in the area in more than a decade.
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which → come → decade
Eight aftershocks have been recorded since Saturday's quake, including two tremors overnight of magnitude-2.5 and 1.5.
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aftershocks → record → magnitude-2.5
Geoscience Australia said it received more than 2,000 reports of people feeling Wednesday's tremor, which hit at a depth of 10 kilometres.
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which → say → kilometres
Seismology Research Centre chief scientist Adam Pascale said the recent aftershock activity is expected, and there might be more to come.
uncertain
activity → say → ?
"We do see this type of activity regularly, just sometimes they're clustered a little bit closer together and other times they're not," he said.
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he → see → activity
Mr Pascale said he expected there would be more aftershocks.
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he → say → ?
"I imagine they'll continue for some days and weeks,"he said.
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they → imagine → days
"Whether there's larger events is impossible to tell but again we need to be prepared.
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we → tell → events
"
A history of Earthquakes
Monash University seismologist and Australian Earthquake Engineering Society president, Dee Ninis, said Gippsland had a history of earthquakes.
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Gippsland → say → earthquakes
"Korumburra is an area that gets quite a few earthquakes; they probably experience an earthquake large enough to be felt a couple of times a year," Dr Ninis said.
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Ninis → get → times
The region had two magnitude-4.6 quakes in 2009 only a few weeks apart, and also a magnitude-4.4 quake in 2011.
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region → have → 2011
Dr Ninis said even though Australia was not along an edge of a tectonic plate boundary like New Zealand or Japan, it could feel the impact of distant plate movement.
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it → say → movement
The largest earthquake on record in Victoria was the magnitude-5.9 magnitude quake near Woods Point in 2021, which was felt 130 kilometres away in Melbourne.
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which → feel → Melbourne
Mr Pascale said Australia had the potential to register large earthquakes.
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Australia → say → earthquakes
"We haven't recorded one of that magnitude [7], we've gotten into the high sixes before in Australia in the last 60-odd years that we've been doing the monitoring, but there is a potential for quite a large earthquake," he said.
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he → record → earthquake
Earthquake lessons
Victoria's State Emergency Service will run earthquake drills in Gippsland in schools, workplaces and with community groups next week.
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Service → run → groups
Dubbed the Great Shake-Out, the event will teach people how to remain safe during an earthquake.
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event → dub → earthquake
Victoria SES assistant chief officer Cameron Rothnie said preparedness was key.
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preparedness → say → ?
"We're promoting drills where people are encouraged to practice three safety steps if you feel the ground shaking, which is drop, cover and hold on," he said.
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he → promote → steps
"Drop to the ground, cover your head and neck with your arms and move under a sturdy table or bench or other piece of furniture and hold on until the shaking stops."
Mr Rothnie said the SES had been closely monitoring the aftershocks.
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SES → drop → aftershocks
"Aftershocks are likely to fade away from here, although we can't rule out another big one," he said.
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he → fade → one
"Gippsland is very well prepared for earthquakes.
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Gippsland → prepare → earthquakes
We have a really strong and robust regional earthquake plan … and we have increased staff availability this week and over the weekend."
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we → have → weekend
The Aporia
