Geologists map out Australia’s high-risk seismic hazard regions

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November 19, 2012 – AUSTRALIA - Moe has been ranked as one of Australia’s earthquake danger zones, according to a new national hazard map, released yesterday. The Latrobe Valley town joined locations in the Northern Territory and Western Australia as the regions most at risk after Moe was at the epicenter of two earthquakes in as many months this year. Shockwaves were felt by millions across the state, when a 5.4 magnitude quake – Victoria’s biggest – struck 16km southwest of Moe in June, damaging homes and throwing people from their chairs. A second, 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck just over a month later at the same location, and experts called it an aftershock. Seismologists from Geoscience Australia developed the Earth Hazard Map of Australia by analyzing the location of past earthquakes. York and Kirwan in Western Australia and Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory are also at risk. Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson explained the map estimated the likelihood of a particular area experiencing strong ground-shaking from earthquakes. He said it was this, rather than the magnitude of an earthquake, that endangered people, buildings and infrastructure. The new risk map could be used by emergency services and influence Australian building standards to bolster earthquake-prone areas against damage. “Although these maps do not enable us to predict earthquakes, they will allow engineers and planners to design and locate buildings and infrastructure so as to better protect our communities,” Mr Ferguson said. –Herald Sun