Notable Earthquakes Archive
A curated, permanent archive of significant earthquakes worldwide and across Australia & Oceania. Events qualify automatically when they reach M6.0+ globally, M5.0+ within the Australian region, generate a tsunami threat, or pass USGS's significance threshold. Smaller, ordinary tremors are rotated out after 30 days to keep this page focused on what mattered.
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Total archived
0
Australia / Oceania
0
Tsunami-flagged
0
Historic AU events
8
USGS-tracked notable events
Historic Australian earthquakes
Pre-USGS-id events curated by our editors. Includes major Australian quakes and regional tsunami sources that affected Australia.
Meckering earthquake
14 Oct 1968 · Meckering, Wheatbelt (WA)
One of Australia's largest onshore earthquakes. Produced a 37 km surface fault scarp and severely damaged the town of Meckering, around 130 km east of Perth.
Read more →Newcastle earthquake
28 Dec 1989 · Newcastle (NSW)
Australia's deadliest earthquake. Caused 13 deaths and an estimated A$4 billion in damage across Newcastle, including the collapse of the Newcastle Workers Club.
13 fatalities
Read more →Tennant Creek earthquakes
22 Jan 1988 · Tennant Creek (NT)
Three large earthquakes (M6.3, M6.4, M6.6) within 12 hours produced a 35 km surface rupture in the Northern Territory — the largest intraplate sequence recorded in Australia.
Read more →Kalgoorlie earthquake
20 Apr 2010 · Kalgoorlie (WA)
Caused widespread damage to historic buildings in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, with one heritage hotel partially collapsing. No serious injuries.
Read more →Mansfield earthquake
22 Sept 2021 · Mansfield, Victorian Alps (VIC)
The largest recorded onshore earthquake in Victoria. Felt across Melbourne and much of southeastern Australia, with minor damage to buildings in Melbourne's inner suburbs.
Read more →South Australia (Ernabella) earthquake
30 May 1986 · Marryat Creek (SA)
Produced a 13 km surface rupture in remote South Australia. Felt across a wide area but caused minimal damage due to the sparsely populated region.
Read more →Sumatra–Andaman earthquake & Boxing Day tsunami
26 Dec 2004 · Off the west coast of Sumatra (Indonesia)
Third-largest earthquake ever recorded. Triggered a catastrophic Indian Ocean tsunami that reached Western Australia and killed more than 227,000 people across 14 countries. Prompted the establishment of the Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre.
227,898 fatalities
Read more →Solomon Islands earthquake
6 Feb 2013 · Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands (Solomon Islands)
Generated a regional tsunami in the Pacific. A tsunami warning was briefly issued for Australia's east coast before being downgraded.
10 fatalities
Read more →