An earthquake is the shaking and vibration at the surface of the Earth caused by underground movement along a fault plane, or by volcanic activity. A fault plane is a weak point within a tectonic plate where the pressure can be released.
Unlike other countries such as Japan, New Zealand and Indonesia, Australia does not lie in close proximity to a tectonic plate boundary where large earthquakes can occur. However, communities in Australia can still experience damaging and deadly earthquakes. The largest earthquake to affect Australia in recent times was the Newcastle earthquake in 1989, which killed 13 people and injured 160.
But earthquakes can and do happen in Victoria.There are a number of fault planes that have been identified in Victoria, including the Strzelecki Ranges, Mornington Peninsula and in the Otway Ranges. In addition, fault planes can be created over time or may have not been identified.
What causes earthquakes?
Earthquakes are caused by the movement of Earth’s outer layer (the crust and a portion of the upper mantle). The outside layer of Earth is split into tectonic plates which are moving slightly due to the movement of magma in the layer below. This causes plates to squeeze together, move apart and slide alongside each other.
Earthquakes are classified into two types:
Interplate earthquakes – these earthquakes occur on tectonic plate boundaries where the tectonic plates are moving towards each other or sliding alongside each other. Interplate earthquakes are common for countries such as Japan, New Zealand and the west coast of the United States which are located on tectonic plate boundaries. Large earthquakes are usually interplate earthquakes.
Intraplate earthquakes – these earthquakes occur in the middle of tectonic plates on fault zones where the pressure of the tectonic plate being squashed and forced to move builds up and is released through the cracks in rocks associated with fault zones, resulting in an earthquake. As Australia is located in the middle of a tectonic plate, we are less susceptible to larger earthquakes; however damaging earthquakes can still occur on fault zones.
VICSES have put together some important information that can help you learn more about what you can do to prepare for earthquakes.
How do earthquake notification systems work?
How can I prepare for an earthquake?
What should I do if an earthquake happens?
What is an emergency plan and what should it include?
What should I put in my emergency kit?
VicEmergency app
The VicEmergency app aligns with the VicEmergency website to provide a centralised location for Victorians to access timely emergency information and warnings.
The app includes warnings and incident notifications for fire, flood, storm, earthquake, tsunami, weather warnings, shark sightings, beach closures and more.
In order to receive location specific app alerts when warnings are issued or incidents occur, you need to set up your watch zones.
You can download VicEmergency from the App Store or Google Play.
For app support, please visit the VicEmergency Knowledge Base.
