Rural WA hit by ‘startling’ 4.1-magnitude earthquake

Rural WA hit by ‘startling’ 4.1-magnitude earthquake

Residents south-east of Perth have reported “unreal” shaking that sounded “like heavy trucks” following a 4.1-magnitude earthquake.

Key points:

  • The earthquake hit a rural town in WA’s Great Southern at about 8.40am
  • More than 90 people reported feeling the tremors to Geoscience Australia
  • One nearby residence said it was “the strongest and longest” earthquake she had felt

Geoscience Australia recorded the earthquake at about 8:40am on Sunday between Arthur River and Wagin in Western Australia’s Great Southern region.

The quake was recorded at a depth of 5 kilometres and more than 90 people reported feeling tremors.

Residents in surrounding towns are no strangers to earthquakes, especially those in and near Darkan where reports are frequent.

Over 45km away from Sunday’s earthquake, Mokup resident Elaine Venn felt the tremor and said she’d never experienced one so strong.

map of where earthquake was reported

The orange circle shows where the earthquake was recorded between Arthur River and Wagin.(Supplied: Geoscience Australia)

“I was sitting at the table on my laptop, and suddenly you could just feel the house shaking and the windows shaking, and I instantly knew it was an earthquake,” Ms Venn said.

“The intenseness of it startled me because it was so strong. It was quite unreal.”

Katherine Goss lives halfway between Darkan and Arthur River and has felt tremors over the last 12 months.

However, Ms Goss said the earthquake was “the strongest and longest” she had felt.

“Windows rattled the entire time,” she said.

“The rumbling sounded like heavy grain trucks that pass just down the main road.

“You always worry about fires and flooding from the river in our area, but I never thought earthquakes would be as frequent as they’ve been.”

'Arthur River' sign as road train passes

Areas around Arthur River are shaken by earthquakes regularly.(ABC Great Southern: Daniel Mercer)

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