Source: The Herald Sun, Monday, January 22, 1996,
p.16 Source: The Herald Sun, Monday, January 22, 1996,
p.16
By WENDY BUSFIELD SOUTH Gippsland is one of Australia's earthquake hotspots, according to the RMIT's Seismology Research Centre. But the centre's principal seismologist Vaughan Wesson yesterday said earthquakes were also likely near Geelong and Echuca. He said the Morning- ton Peninsula-where a small quake rocked Mt Martha last week, measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale-was another unstable zone. Most earthquakes were too small and deep to be felt, Mr Wesson said. But he could not rule out an earthquake in Victoria similar to the one that killed 13 people in Newcastle in 1989. "We're not a plate boundary like New Zea- land, Japan and California, but we are certainly one of the more active intra-plate areas," he said. Earthquakes hit Victoria at least once a day, but sizeable tremors were only felt once a month. Mr Wesson said South Gippsland had been a hot spot for 30 years and would continue flaring for another three decades. He said land from Melbourne through the eastern highlands to Mt Kosciusko was particularly prone to movement. Other quake-prone areas include Pyramid HiU in northern Victoria the Otways forest south of Colac and the Bradford Hills southwest of Bendigo. "Mountainous areas of the state tend to have more earthquakes," Mr Wesson said.
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