“Some faults around Adelaide have moved slabs of the continent up to 30 metres in the last one million years,” says ARC Professorial Fellow, Mike Sandiford.
“When these big quakes reoccur, they have the potential to cause catastrophic damage to cities such as Melbourne, Adelaide, and the La Trobe Valley area, which straddle some of these major faults lines,” says Professor Mike Sandiford also from the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne, who conducted one of the studies.
Possibly, the most dramatic indication of this geological stirring, which the studies estimate began suddenly about ten million years ago, can be found in the landscape of the Mount Lofty Ranges near Adelaide.
“A typical earthquake of magnitude 6.0 might produce a displacement of about one metre. Thirty metres is equivalent to 30-50 big earthquakes in the last million years,” he says.
“This is potentially six big earthquakes,” says Sandiford. “We are still trying to determine the slip rates along these fault lines, but our evidence so far suggests that we should expect, on any one of the major faults, a large earthquake every 10-20,000 years. The estimated return period of a quake greater than 6.0 in south-east Australia is about 30 years, but none have been recorded in the last 100 years,” he says.
[ - ] dulcima [op] 1 point 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 21:34:49 ago (+1/-0)
Interesting article. I did read something of this a while back. You can see ancient volcanic activity landscape right across from here when one travels into South Australia. I don't think people give it much thought.
Certainly a catastrophic situation if a huge city like Melbourne were struck with a biggie. This country is not capable of handling such a wide scale disaster.
The REAL disaster is the total collapse of everything in the aftermath. No power, water, food, and medical systems operating normally. (Think of a recent example like the 9.0 earthquake in Haiti)
Just be prepared to survive 2-4 weeks while the area attempts to recover.
Wait until you hear about the perfect pollen storm, where a thunderstorm pulled pollen and dumped it on Melbourne city, leaving thousands hospitalised and killing ten people from that one event.
[ + ] shitface9000
[ - ] shitface9000 0 points 1.7 yearsOct 22, 2023 07:34:26 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] dosvydanya_freedomz
[ - ] dosvydanya_freedomz 2 points 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 12:18:21 ago (+2/-0)
[ + ] dulcima
[ - ] dulcima [op] 5 points 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 12:22:59 ago (+5/-0)
This is a city of 5 million people. If we get a big one, it will be a major disaster.
[ + ] KosherHiveKicker
[ - ] KosherHiveKicker 2 points 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 12:54:57 ago (+2/-0)
It might be a good idea to follow up on this guys current work, if you live near those areas.
9-26-2008 - https://cooberpedytimes.com/2008/09/26/faultlines-weaving-their-way-across-southern-australia/
“When these big quakes reoccur, they have the potential to cause catastrophic damage to cities such as Melbourne, Adelaide, and the La Trobe Valley area, which straddle some of these major faults lines,” says Professor Mike Sandiford also from the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne, who conducted one of the studies.
Possibly, the most dramatic indication of this geological stirring, which the studies estimate began suddenly about ten million years ago, can be found in the landscape of the Mount Lofty Ranges near Adelaide.
“A typical earthquake of magnitude 6.0 might produce a displacement of about one metre. Thirty metres is equivalent to 30-50 big earthquakes in the last million years,” he says.
“This is potentially six big earthquakes,” says Sandiford. “We are still trying to determine the slip rates along these fault lines, but our evidence so far suggests that we should expect, on any one of the major faults, a large earthquake every 10-20,000 years. The estimated return period of a quake greater than 6.0 in south-east Australia is about 30 years, but none have been recorded in the last 100 years,” he says.
[ + ] dulcima
[ - ] dulcima [op] 1 point 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 21:34:49 ago (+1/-0)
Certainly a catastrophic situation if a huge city like Melbourne were struck with a biggie. This country is not capable of handling such a wide scale disaster.
[ + ] KosherHiveKicker
[ - ] KosherHiveKicker 1 point 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 21:45:55 ago (+1/-0)
The REAL disaster is the total collapse of everything in the aftermath. No power, water, food, and medical systems operating normally. (Think of a recent example like the 9.0 earthquake in Haiti)
Just be prepared to survive 2-4 weeks while the area attempts to recover.
[ + ] drhitler
[ - ] drhitler 0 points 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 22:08:58 ago (+0/-0)
https://newcastle.nsw.gov.au/library/newcastle-stories/online-collections/the-newcastle-1989-earthquake
that was the last big one, although there is speculation coal mining in the area may have been responsible.
[ + ] dulcima
[ - ] dulcima [op] 0 points 1.7 yearsOct 22, 2023 07:39:16 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] UncleDoug
[ - ] UncleDoug 2 points 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 13:30:05 ago (+2/-0)
It can also happen again at any time.
[ + ] mikenigger
[ - ] mikenigger 1 point 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 17:14:32 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] PotatoWhisperer2
[ - ] PotatoWhisperer2 1 point 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 17:32:19 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] dulcima
[ - ] dulcima [op] 1 point 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 21:36:26 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Spaceman84
[ - ] Spaceman84 1 point 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 12:05:41 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] dulcima
[ - ] dulcima [op] 1 point 1.7 yearsOct 21, 2023 12:23:28 ago (+1/-0)