ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-10-09 · by Danielle Pope and Lily Kristanto
Geoscience Australia recorded nine earthquakes in Gippsland from early October, with a magnitude-4.9 quake hitting near Leongatha on Saturday and another magnitude-3.2 tremor felt in the same area on Wednesday evening. More than 2,000 people reported feeling the latter earthquake. Emergency services are advising residents to prepare for potential future earthquakes, as seismic activity is expected to continue for days and weeks ahead, according to experts.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In early October, Gippsland, Australia experienced nine earthquakes within six days, with the largest registering as magnitude-4.9 near Leongatha on a Saturday. This series of quakes began after a magnitude-3.9 earthquake in Ensay one week prior, which was described as the most powerful in over ten years for that area. Emergency services including the SES have been monitoring these events and encouraging residents to prepare for potential future earthquakes. The Seismology Research Centre's chief scientist, Adam Pascale, noted that such aftershock activity is typical following a significant quake and more tremors may occur. Geoscience Australia reported over 2,000 felt reports for the latest magnitude-3.2 earthquake in Leongatha on Wednesday evening.
Written for “Earthquakes In Gippsland” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
In short:
Geoscience Australia has recorded nine earthquakes in Gippsland in the nine days to start October.
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Australia → record → October
A magnitude-3.2 earthquake was felt in Leongatha on Wednesday evening, days after a magnitude-4.9 quake hit near Leongatha.
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quake → feel → Leongatha
Emergency services are encouraging residents to be prepared in the event another quake hits the region.
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quake → encourage → region
An earthquake scientist says there is nothing unusual about the number of earthquakes recorded in Gippsland in the past nine days.
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scientist → say → days
Gippsland has been hit by nine earthquakes in the nine days of October, starting with the magnitude-4.9 quake that rocked the region on Saturday.
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that → hit → Saturday
That earthquake came one week after a magnitude-3.9 earthquake was recorded at Ensay, in eastern Victoria, which at the time was labelled the most powerful recorded in the area in more than a decade.
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which → come → decade
Eight aftershocks have been recorded since Saturday's quake, including two tremors overnight of magnitude-2.5 and 1.5.
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aftershocks → record → magnitude-2.5
Geoscience Australia said it received more than 2,000 reports of people feeling Wednesday's tremor, which hit at a depth of 10 kilometres.
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which → say → kilometres
Seismology Research Centre chief scientist Adam Pascale said the recent aftershock activity is expected, and there might be more to come.
uncertain
activity → say → ?
"We do see this type of activity regularly, just sometimes they're clustered a little bit closer together and other times they're not," he said.
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he → see → activity
Mr Pascale said he expected there would be more aftershocks.
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he → say → ?
"I imagine they'll continue for some days and weeks,"he said.
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they → imagine → days
"Whether there's larger events is impossible to tell but again we need to be prepared.
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we → tell → events
"
A history of Earthquakes
Monash University seismologist and Australian Earthquake Engineering Society president, Dee Ninis, said Gippsland had a history of earthquakes.
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Gippsland → say → earthquakes
"Korumburra is an area that gets quite a few earthquakes; they probably experience an earthquake large enough to be felt a couple of times a year," Dr Ninis said.
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Ninis → get → times
The region had two magnitude-4.6 quakes in 2009 only a few weeks apart, and also a magnitude-4.4 quake in 2011.
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region → have → 2011
Dr Ninis said even though Australia was not along an edge of a tectonic plate boundary like New Zealand or Japan, it could feel the impact of distant plate movement.
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it → say → movement
The largest earthquake on record in Victoria was the magnitude-5.9 magnitude quake near Woods Point in 2021, which was felt 130 kilometres away in Melbourne.
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which → feel → Melbourne
Mr Pascale said Australia had the potential to register large earthquakes.
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Australia → say → earthquakes
"We haven't recorded one of that magnitude [7], we've gotten into the high sixes before in Australia in the last 60-odd years that we've been doing the monitoring, but there is a potential for quite a large earthquake," he said.
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he → record → earthquake
Earthquake lessons
Victoria's State Emergency Service will run earthquake drills in Gippsland in schools, workplaces and with community groups next week.
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Service → run → groups
Dubbed the Great Shake-Out, the event will teach people how to remain safe during an earthquake.
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event → dub → earthquake
Victoria SES assistant chief officer Cameron Rothnie said preparedness was key.
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preparedness → say → ?
"We're promoting drills where people are encouraged to practice three safety steps if you feel the ground shaking, which is drop, cover and hold on," he said.
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he → promote → steps
"Drop to the ground, cover your head and neck with your arms and move under a sturdy table or bench or other piece of furniture and hold on until the shaking stops."
Mr Rothnie said the SES had been closely monitoring the aftershocks.
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SES → drop → aftershocks
"Aftershocks are likely to fade away from here, although we can't rule out another big one," he said.
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he → fade → one
"Gippsland is very well prepared for earthquakes.
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Gippsland → prepare → earthquakes
We have a really strong and robust regional earthquake plan … and we have increased staff availability this week and over the weekend."
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we → have → weekend
The Aporia
