MEXICO: THIS year’s Queensland earthquakes may have helped prevent tsunamis from forming off the Fraser Coast due to a release of pressure from under the earth’s crust, scientists say.
Geoscientists from the University of Sydney are currently studying the likelihood of “devastating” tsunamis hitting Australia’s eastern shoreline, including the Fraser Coast.
The research project, led by Associate Professor Tom Hubble, investigates massive landslides on Australia’s continental slope that could cause disastrous tsunamis.
“It’s hard to understand how these slopes ever fail yet the evidence is they can, because there are enormous scars, or scoops, along the continental margin from Bateman’s Bay to Fraser Island,” Prof Hubble said.
“The big questions for us are how many, how big and how often? And we’re making some progress on this.”
The researchers believe the landslides could be triggered by large earthquakes, likely of magnitude six to seven, and are now investigating this theory.
“If an earthquake of the right magnitude occurred, we believe it could trigger a significant tsunami,” Prof Hubble said.
In the past year, Geoscience Australia has recorded 21 seismic events with epicentres in the Wide Bay region – Eidsvold and offshore east of Fraser Island.
The strongest earthquake recorded this year in the state had a magnitude of 5.4 and began offshore of Fraser Island.
Prof Hubble told the Chronicle these small releases of pressure may in fact prevent tsunamis from forming, instead of causing them.
“These earthquakes are interesting,” he said.
“Because they’ve been around a magnitude of 5.5, then the stress has already been dissipated.”
However Fraser Coast Mayor Gerard O’Connell said people living in the area should “be prepared” for tsunami events.
“The recent earthquakes near Fraser Island remind us that the area could be affected and we should all be prepared,” Cr O’Connell said.
“Residents can prepare, in the same way that they would prepare for a storm surge, the higher tide pushed up by an approaching cyclone.”
