Magnitude 4.8 earthquake rattles large parts of NSW
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake has rattled New South Wales, cracking windows, causing thousands of power outages and forcing some schools to evacuate.
The quake – initially identified as a magnitude 5.0 before being downgraded twice – hit just before midday near Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter Valley, 250 kilometres north-west of Sydney.
More than 2,500 people reported feeling the quake to Geoscience Australia from as far away as Coffs Harbour, Sydney and Canberra.
Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Hadi Ghasemi said most reports were centred in the Hunter Valley.
"We have had one report that stuff fell off the shelves and that kind of thing, and the screen door came off," he said.
"Closer areas to the epicentre, we are receiving, you know, moderate to light level of ground-shaking."
The quake shook bricks from buildings. (ABC Newcastle: Jesmine Cheong)
Deputy Northern Zone Commander for the New South Wales State Emergency Service Peter Keegan said crews were responding to reports of minor infrastructure damage after receiving 11 calls.
"There had been a number of reports of damage in the Muswellbrook area — broken windows, and a chimney damaged in the Maitland area," he said.
"We've had no reports of any injury at all, just a couple reports of minor damage in the Upper Hunter."
This chimney was damaged in Muswellbrook. (Supplied)
In a statement, NSW Police confirmed the damage was limited but called on dam owners to check for any structural issues.
"Dam owners in the region are urged to ensure that dam integrity has not been affected," police said.
.The epicentre is near BHP's Mount Arthur Coal Mine, which has a large tailings dam where work was stopped following the quake.
A BHP spokesperson told the ABC some of its workers were injured.
"A few team members at Mt Arthur Coal required first aid for minor injuries from falling items — thankfully no one was seriously hurt," the spokesperson said.
"All areas at the site are [being inspected] before we safely restart operations."
Hunter Water said it had checked its water storage dams.
On July 17 the water authority said it was taking "immediate action to reduce storage at Grahamstown to 90 per cent capacity" in response to a comprehensive risk assessment that found it could be compromised in the unlikely event of an earthquake.
It said visual inspections were carried out of the Grahamstown and Chichester Dams on Friday and there was no sign of damage at either site.
Shelves shook at the Lavis Mitre 10 hardware store in Muswellbrook when the tremor hit the Upper Hunter town. (Supplied: Lavis Mitre 10)
'I wasn't game to move'On social media residents reported their homes shaking, furniture moving and windows rattling.
Beryl Hartin from Muswellbrook was among them and said she was too scared to move.
"There was this boom and the whole house and the front fell off the air conditioner," she said.
"I wasn't game to move because I didn't know what else would fall down.
"My legs are still like jelly and I've got a neighbour here who's exactly the same.
"It was a bit frightening, actually, but I knew straight away it was an earthquake."
The quake shook bricks from the walls of buildings in Muswellbrook. (Supplied: Tom Alsleben)
Tom Alsleben was at work at the Royal Hotel in Muswellbrook when the quake hit.
"I was just in the bar making a few coffees for the kitchen staff and then we thought there must have been a truck hitting the building," he said.
"Everyone was just shaken up about it, but went outside and checked everyone was safe … not too much damage at the moment.
"We've had about two or three phone calls now asking if we're still open."
Buildings near the epicentre received minor damage. (ABC Newcastle: Jesmine Cheong)
Brooklyn Nicholson lives in an apartment tower in Forster on the Mid North Coast and said the complex shook.
"I was like, 'Am I like going through an earthquake right now?'" she said.
Jenny Furner was at the Gunnedah Conservatorium at Gunnedah Town Hall and also got quite a scare.
"I thought the whole building was going to fall down around me," she said.
"It's an old building, so you could see the cracks in the wall shaking.
"I ran in to see if anyone else had felt it and no-one else had felt it, and thought maybe I was going crazy."
Geoscience Australia says thousands of people have reported feeling the tremor.
Police and NSW Health say they did not receive reports of injuries.
