Magnitude 5.5 ML Total damage 3.4 million | Areas affected Australia | |
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Date May 22, 1961 (1961-05-22) | ||
The 1961 New South Wales earthquake (also called the Robertson earthquake) occurred on May 22 in New South Wales, Australia. Reaching a Richter magnitude of 5.5 and causing significant structural damage in a wide area.
The earthquake was felt from the Snowy Mountains to Newcastle, Dubbo, and Narrandera. An estimated area of 50,000 square miles. In the area of Moss Vale, Robertson, and Bowral, the earthquake caused significant structural damage to buildings. While rockfalls blocked the Macquarie Pass. Sydney suffered minimal damage from the earthquake itself, though the tremors and resulting power failures caused "considerable alarm".
Seismograms from Riverview were used to estimate the magnitude of the earthquake. There were only three known earthquakes of comparable magnitude prior to this one. Occurring respectively in 1930, 1934, and 1938.