A magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded off the coast of Western Australia.
The earthquake was detected 260 kilometers from Albany, on the south coast of WA, at a depth of 10 kilometres, at around 10:45am local time on Thursday.
It comes just two days after thousands of residents were left without power after a 4.1 magnitude earthquake hit regional New South Wales.
The event was recorded 7 kilometers from Denman in the Upper Hunter region, 250 kilometers north of Sydney, at a depth of 10 kilometers at 12:15 on Tuesday.
According to Geoscience Australia, more than 300 people reported feeling the earthquake in the Hunter Valley, Central Coast, Scone and Penrith in western Sydney.
Experts warned the New South Wales earthquake was part of a “swarm sequence” that would see more seismic activity in the area in the coming months.
Residents of the mining town of Muswellbrook in New South Wales were told to expect “hundreds to thousands” of aftershocks following four earthquakes in three months.
“In earthquake swarms, there are a series of earthquakes with magnitudes of similar size – it’s not like a sequence of aftershocks,” Dr Hadi Ghasemi, senior seismologist at GeoScience Australia, told the ABC.
The magnitude 4.0 earthquake was detected about 260km from Albany, on the southern coast of WA, at a depth of 10km, at approximately 10:45am local time on Thursday (pictured).
The earthquake occurred off the coast of D’Entrecasteaux National Park, 315 kilometers south of Perth.
“In this region, since the magnitude 4.7 earthquake in August, we have recorded more than 50 earthquakes, four of them with magnitudes greater than 4, including the recent one.”
Dr. Ghasemi warned residents about the possibility of more shaking being felt.
“All previous magnitude 4 earthquakes in this region were followed by smaller aftershocks,” he said.
“But of course, with swarm activity, this type of activity can continue for months or even years.”
More to come.