Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Darwin woken by Indonesian earthquake
People in Darwin have been rocked by an overnight magnitude-7.3 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia.
December 30, 2021
Parts of the Northern Territory have been rocked by an overnight earthquake off the coast of Indonesia.
The magnitude-7.3 quake struck at 3.55am ACST on Thursday, according to Geoscience Australia.
The epicentre was about 250km northeast of Dili and 50km east of Indonesia’s Maluku islands in the Banda Sea.
Tremors were felt in Darwin for several minutes with many locals, including Chief Minister Michael Gunner, shaken awake.
“Bloody oath,” he told reporters when asked if he had felt the tremors.
“It went for a very long time. It’s the largest one I can remember and I’ve felt a fair few shakes here in Darwin.
“I feel for anybody in an upstairs unit, if you were up a few floors you would have felt that quite dramatically”.
Local Allan Anderson said he felt his apartment building “rock” but it had sustained no damage.
“That was one hell of a way to wake up,” he wrote on Facebook.
Olympic gold medallist Nova Peris joined dozens of Darwinites posting messages of surprise and relief after the earthquake.
“Darwin Earthquake! Holy Moly, that was a strong one!” she said on social media.