A magnitude 6.4 earthquake has been recorded west of Australia’s Macquarie Island, the latest in a series of seismic events in the region. The quake struck late on Saturday night at a depth of 10 kilometres, according to geoscience authorities.
Macquarie Island, located about 1,600 kilometres southeast of Tasmania, is part of Australia and governed by Tasmania. It became a Tasmanian State Reserve in 1978 and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The island sits on the boundary between the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, resulting in frequent seismic activity.
This event follows a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit the same area two weeks ago, which briefly triggered a tsunami watch for Australia. In December last year, a magnitude 6.8 quake was felt, while larger earthquakes of magnitudes 8.2 and 8.1 occurred in 1989 and 2004, respectively.
