On this day in 1912, Bega was shaken by a “violent” earthquake, but aside from startling residents, it apparently did no damage.
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During a recent visit to the district, Kevin McCue – a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers Australia – was inspired to revisit his former study of NSW earthquakes and penned the below article.
Does anyone recall the 1987 tremor? Or perhaps any others that aren’t referred to here, like this one that struck near Cobargo in 2013?
Bega rattled by earthquakes
Should you feel the uncanny shake of an earthquake, you should know it wasn’t the first to be felt in Bega though few residents of Bega today would remember the last time it was shaken by an earthquake back on June 13, 1987.
A delve into local history tells a different story, not that buildings were damaged or collapsed, just that the unnerving rattle of windows and clattering of crockery wasn’t so rare in the past.
In 1987 the earthquake was a small magnitude 2.6 event, its epicentre about 10km NW of Bega and it lasted just a few seconds.
Earlier earthquakes reported felt by Bega residents in 1884, 1885 and 1892 were stronger and the shaking lasted longer. The sources were, it was discovered, large earthquakes off the east coast of Flinders Island that were felt throughout Tasmania and Gippsland, and as far as Melbourne, causing damage in Launceston. In Bega they were rated ‘severe’ yet caused no damage.
The earthquake that caused most anxiety in Bega struck at 6am on Friday, January 19, 1912, with a “thunderous roar lasting about 20 seconds”.
It was described as “violent” in The Bega Budget of June 20, 1912, and the most distinct ever felt there, but apart from shaking the houses and their occupants it did no damage.
One resident filling the kettle at the tank when the shock struck, reportedly speedily dropped the kettle and ran, leaving the tap running.
Father Pigot, in charge of the Riverview observatory, stated that this small earthquake is interesting being the nearest undoubted tectonic disturbance recorded in Sydney to 1916, since the Riverview observations began in March 1909.
The epicentre, as best can be judged, was between Bega and Tilba Tilba about 25km north and the magnitude was at least 4.5, certainly big enough to cause minor damage had it been closer to the urban area.
It was felt as far west as Cooma and along the coast from Batemans Bay to the Victorian border.
What is unnerving is the uncertainty over when the shaking will end and how bad it might become in the meantime.
In February 1897 about midnight there was “great excitement” in Bega. Doors, windows and crockery rattled following a magnitude 4.5 earthquake near Cooma.
In 1945 both Bega and Tathra experienced a small local earthquake, quite different to the earthquake in May 1959 near Cooma that tripped the electricity, causing work on the Hydro scheme to come to a halt and caused Bega residents to flee their homes.
Damaging earthquakes in the Gunning region in 1934 and 1949 were felt in Bega, and in May 1961 and March 1973 similar sized earthquakes, magnitude 5.5, near Picton and Bowral that caused landslides and building damage near the epicentre shook SE NSW to the Victorian border, including Bega.
There is no science that predicts when the next earthquake will shake Bega or any other town in south-eastern NSW, nor where the epicentre might be, nor even how big it might be.
Could we expect damage in Bega? The answer can only be – why not?
Earthquakes, as Bega’s history shows, are infrequent but the consequences can be awful as they were in Newcastle in December 1989.
The key things to ensure are that the hospital remains functional and accessible, and that local schools are not damaged badly enough to endanger life.
What happens to homes is up to the home owner and their insurance company. As long as you have a fire policy you will be covered by insurance but owners are advised to check. It is a good idea to regularly maintain your home but you should also examine your home for potential problems, foundations, walls, roof and chimneys, expert engineering advice might be required.