Newcastle Earthquake Case Study

Magnitude The magnitude of the Newcastle earthquake was 5.6 on the Richter scale, which is a moderate earthquake in comparison to other major earthquakes in the world. Location The Newcastle earthquake had a shallow epicenter, about 1km - 5km below the surface which meant that the tremors from the earthquake was not absorbed by the ground as much, leading to an increased intensity of the earthquake. The Meckering earthquake in 1968 was much bigger then the Newcastle …

…were not built to withstand tremors and so the infrastructure easily fell apart, killing thousands. Newcastle was an example of how Australian's thought that earthquakes would not occur where they lived and so were unprepared and paid the price. It definitely changed the way Australian's saw earthquakes as hazards in this country. We have learnt from experience, to emphasize the need for awareness and preparedness in the future from the threat of future major earthquakes.