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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Matthew Kelly

Hunter has got the shakes

More earthquakes are likely to be felt across the Hunter in coming days as a result of movement in a series of shallow seismic faults in the Upper Hunter.

The region was rocked by four earthquakes between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.

A 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck at 3.27pm on Monday. Geoscience Australia estimated the quake occurred at a depth of 2 kilometers and was located between Edderton and Muswellbrook.

The second quake, which had a magnitude of 4.4, occurred nearby at Denman at 4.29pm.

A third quake registering a magnitude of 2.9 was recorded in the same area around 6.11pm.

On Tuesday morning, residents woke to news that a fourth earthquake had hit with a magnitude of 3.0

.

No damage has been reported.

There have been more than 100 small earthquakes in the Upper Hunter since 2000. All have been at a relatively shallow depth and between 1.5 and 4.4 in magnitude.

Seven earthquakes ranging in magnitude between 2.1 to 3.5 were recorded near Muswellbrook over a five day period in September 2018.

Geoscience Australia seismologist Hadi Ghasemi said it was likely more earthquakes would occur in the area in coming days.

"There are a number of weak faults in that area that are contributing to these miniquakes; it's hard to link it to a particular fault," he said.

The largest fault in the region, the Hunter-Mooki Thrust, forms the boundary between the Sydney Basin Rocks and the New England Fold Belt to the north.

Mr Ghasemi said it was unlikely that mining was responsible for the earthquakes given the intensity of the quakes and the history of seismic activity in the region.

The director of Australian Centre for Astrobiology at the University of NSW, Martin Van Kranendonk, agreed.

"If it was a mining-related earthquake it would almost certainly be a one-off event. You might get a little bit of uplift but that would be it," he said

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