1989 Newcastle earthquake

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1989 Newcastle earthquake
Australia relief map.jpg
Bullseye1.png
UTC  time1989-12-27 23:27
ISC  event 385153
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local date28 December 1989 (1989-12-28)
Local time10:27 a.m. AEDT UTC+11:00
Magnitude5.6  ML (5.4  mb [1] )
Depth11.5 kilometres (7.1 mi)
Epicentre Boolaroo, New South Wales
32°57′S151°37′E / 32.95°S 151.61°E / -32.95; 151.61
Areas affectedAustralia
Total damageA$4 billion [2] ($9.5 billion in 2022, adjusted for inflation)
Max. intensity MMI VIII (Severe) [1]
Casualties13 dead, 160+ injured

The 1989 Newcastle earthquake was an intraplate earthquake that occurred in Newcastle, New South Wales on Thursday 28 December. [2] The shock measured 5.6 on the Richter scale and was one of Australia's most serious natural disasters, killing 13 people and injuring more than 160. The damage bill has been estimated at A$4 billion (or $9.5 billion in 2022, adjusted for inflation), including an insured loss of about $1 billion (or $2.4 billion in 2022, adjusted for inflation). [2]

Contents

The effects were felt over an area of around 200,000 square kilometres (77,000 sq mi) in the state of New South Wales, with isolated reports of movement in areas up to 800 kilometres (500 mi) from Newcastle. [2] Damage to buildings and facilities was reported over an area of 9,000 km2 (3,500 sq mi).

Death toll and damage to buildings

The highest death toll and damage occurred at the Newcastle Workers Club, where the floor collapsed. Nine people were killed and many more were trapped beneath the rubble. [2] Another three people were crushed to death when masonry from building façades collapsed onto awnings on Beaumont Street, Hamilton, an inner-city suburb of Newcastle. Following the death of a woman in Broadmeadow from earthquake-related shock, the final death toll was raised to 13. [2]

The earthquake caused damage to over 35,000 homes, 147 schools, and 3,000 commercial and/or other buildings, with significant damage (i.e. damage worth over $1,000; $2,400 in 2022 adjusted for inflation) caused to 10,000 homes and 42 schools (structural damage), within the immediate Newcastle area.

The number of people in the city on the day of the earthquake was lower than usual, due to a strike by local bus drivers. The earthquake struck in the middle of an interview by a local television station NBN with a union representative.

Statistics

Intensity map for the event 1989 Newcastle earthquake map.png
Intensity map for the event

The names of all 13 victims were published later in newspapers such as the Maitland Mercury [3]

Cause

In early 2007, a United States academic claimed that coal mining in the region triggered the earthquake, although earthquake activity has been present in the area at least since European settlement first occurred. [4] [5] That is in addition to the statement by the former head of the earthquake monitoring group at Geoscience Australia, Dr David Denham, that the Newcastle earthquake occurred some distance from mining activity:

"The depths of the focus of the earthquake was about 13, 14 kilometres, whereas the ones associated with mining, they're actually right close to the mine, because that's where the stress release takes place." [6]

Despite records of previous earthquakes in the area, even the most recent construction codes in Newcastle at the time of the earthquake (issued in 1979) required neither the adoption of earthquake-resistant design nor the strengthening of old buildings, although they did encourage owners to provide more than the minimum strength. [7]

Music

Songs about the Newcastle earthquake include

Literature

Other

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (1972). "Significant Earthquake Information". NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K . Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Earthquake". Newcastle City Council. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  3. ↑ "Newcastle earthquake: 25 years on | Photos". 22 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Mining triggered Newcastle quake, says US academic". Australia: ABC News. 9 January 2007. Archived from the original on 3 April 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  5. ↑ C. Sinadinovski; T. Jones; D. Stewart; And N. Corby. "Earthquake Factsheets – Newcastle" (PDF). Geoscience Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  6. ↑ "Australian experts reject Newcastle quake claims". Australia: ABC News. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
  7. ↑ "Earthquake History, Regional Seismicity and the 1989 Newcastle Earthquake". Geoscience Australia. 22 June 2004. Archived from the original on 26 August 2004. Retrieved 27 June 2007.
  8. ↑ "NewcastleBandsDatabase – The Lost Boys". newcastlebandsdatabase.com.au.
  9. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Newcastle Earthquake Song By Wilson and Lightfoot – Our Town" – via YouTube.
  10. ↑ "NewcastleBandsDatabase -".
  11. ↑ "Gary Shearston – Discography".
  12. ↑ The Newcastle Earthquake Response Record. Newcastle City Council. 1990. ISBN   9780909115371.
  13. ↑ The earth was raised up in waves like the sea: Earthquake tremors felt in the Hunter Valley since white settlement. Hunter House Publications. 1991. ISBN   9780646017167.
  14. ↑ "What Came Between (Book)". 9 April 2011. Archived from the original on 17 July 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  15. ↑ McKinnon, Scott; Cook, Margaret, eds. (2020). Disasters in Australia and New Zealand. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-981-15-4382-1. ISBN   978-981-15-4381-4. S2CID   241278771.
  16. ↑ Damon Cronshaw (26 April 2021), "Author Alan Sunderland has published Six Seconds, a children's book about the Newcastle earthquake", The Newcastle Herald
  17. ↑ "Aftershocks". australianplays.org. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  18. ↑ "AFTERSHOCKS – Ronin Films – Educational DVD Sales".
  19. ↑ "Newcastle Museum Permanent Exhibitions – Newcastle Museum".
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