6.6 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Northwest Coast of Australia

MELBOURNE – Geo-Science Australia has announced a magnitude 6.6 earthquake which struck on Sunday off the northwest coast of Australia.

The 6.6 magnitude undersea quake struck at 3.39pm AEST on Sunday between Port Hedland and Broome, Geo-Science Australia reported.

“As it stands for as long as today, it is the biggest-equal earthquake in Australia ever recorded,” the GeoScience Australia duty seismologist Dan Connolly said.

It equaled the magnitude of an earthquake recorded in Australia’s Tennant Creek, Northern Territory in 1988.

The government agency first reported it at 5.5 magnitude before boosting it up.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake hit at a depth of 33km, about 203km offshore.

It reported the magnitude at 6.9.

“An earthquake of this size … the enormous size, it was felt up to Darwin and down to Perth. It is a rare occurrence,” Connolly said.

There is no threat of a tsunami to the Australian mainland, islands or territories, the weather bureau said.

There have been at least four aftershocks following the Australian earthquake, ranging from 3.8 to 5.2 magnitude, the agency reported.

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6.6 Magnitude Earthquake Australia