The 5.8 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Bowen in north Queensland around 2.30pm, triggering evacuations of buildings in Cairns and Townsville but with no reports of serious injuries or damage. Siesmologist Hugh Glanville told News Corp Australia it was a “significant” quake for Australia and the “biggest earthquake in Queensland in 20 years”. We had a magnitude 6 in central Australia earlier this year but this is the biggest in Queensland in 20 years. Geoscience Australia seismologist Jonathan Bathgate told the ABC the quake posed no tsunami threat, but a large portion of the Queensland coast felt some shaking. Australia’s most damaging earthquake in Newcastle in 1989, which killed 13 people and caused $4bn in damage, was magnitude 5.6.

Source: The Guardian August 18, 2016 07:38 UTC