Newcastle earthquake

Australia is in  the Indo-Australian plate. This area is not affected by the tectonic plate movement, unlike the neighboring countries of Australia. This is the main reason why it is a big shock for the Australians when the 1989 Newcastle earthquake struck the place. This was the worst and the biggest earthquake in Australia. This earthquake left 13 dead and most of the Central New South Wales devastated. This is a big tragedy and a costly damage for the people in Newcastle, Australia.

Earthquake Strike

It was a busy business day for the people in Newcastle, even though it was December, a holiday season. People were busy going about their business when the earthquake struck the city. This city is not accustomed to earthquakes which is why the buildings in this place is not built to withstand earthquakes. The older structures of the city could not even stand 5.6 magnitude earthquakes. When the earthquake struck during abusy day for everybody, buildings and other structures came crashing down, as people rush to safety, panicking and confused.

Casualties

It is very ironic however, that it was the modern buildings that has more casualties. When the Newcastle Workers Club collapsed, nine people were killed. In the suburb of Hamilton at Beaumont Street three more died. And one more death was also included in the list of casualties. The tragedy in the Newcastle earthquake was not just about the buildings that are not prepared for earthquakes or because it was a business day and everyone was busy. It was also because the lower levels of the city ground is full of clay and thin layer of sand. These layers of weak soil doubled the effect of the earthquake. These weak layers of soil made the surface of the Newcastle grounds move even more as the earthquake struck. This kind of movement wouldn’t have occurred in a location that has strong and solid rock base.

Interplate

Interplate earthquakes rarely happens all over the world. This is one of the reason why Newcastle was not prepared in any ways for the earthquake that struck them in December 1989. These interplate earthquakes happens in ancient faults. These ancient faults are weaknesses in the crust of the earth that researchers know little about because it is not surveyed well. These are unknown faults, these faults will only be known when they move. Interplate earthquake can be very strong seismic activities.

History

The 1989 Newcastle earthquake changed the city forever. Most of the buildings that was destroyed by the earthquake was very important to the city’s heritage. Some of the uildings that were destroyed were even built during the early 1900s. The loss of the city was not just felt by the people in Newcastle but in all of Australia.