Earthquake hits South Australia’s smallest town

The remote town of William Creek, known for its iconic William Creek Hotel and its status as one of Australia’s smallest towns, experienced a rare and unexpected event today – a magnitude 4.1 earthquake. The earthquake, which occurred shortly before 9:30 a.m., occurred northwest of the city at a depth of 9.3 kilometers.

While earthquakes are not uncommon in South Australia, they are relatively rare in this particular region. The state’s last significant seismic event occurred 27 weeks ago on April 17, when a magnitude 4.2 earthquake rocked Jamestown, a town in the Mid North region of South Australia known for its historic buildings and proximity to the Clare Valley wine region. .

Despite the moderate size of Sunday’s earthquake, only one person in William Creek reported feeling the tremors. This can be explained by the small population of the city, which has a permanent population of only six people.

Interestingly, this earthquake followed a smaller magnitude 2.4 earthquake that occurred northwest of Cleeve, on the Eyre Peninsula, just a few days earlier on 18 October. In the last week alone, Australia has experienced 18 earthquakes greater than magnitude 2.

There have been 106 earthquakes up to magnitude 4.2 in South Australia this year.