MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A 5.7-magnitude earthquake, equal to the most damaging in the country’s history, has hit near the coast of Queensland in northeastern Australia, senior seismologist from Geoscience Australia Dan Jaksa said.
“This is equivalent to the earthquake that occurred in 1989 in Newcastle, which of course is the most damaging earthquake in Australia's history,” Jaksa said Saturday, as quoted by ABC News.
Jaksa said that a 5-magnitude earthquake is equivalent to an atomic bomb, but Queensland had avoided a disaster because the epicentres were offshore.
He added that the 5.7-magnitude earthquake and the two subsequent ones were the aftershocks of a 5.3-magnitude quake that hit the region on Thursday and was felt by people over 125 miles away.
The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a tsunami warning.
