Earthquake off Pilbara coast

An earthquake registering a magnitude of 4.1 struck 90km off the North West coast of Western Australia last night near Port Hedland.

Geoscience Australia reported the seismic movement occurred at 10.18pm at a depth of 10km.

The impact of the earthquake was estimated to have been felt 69km from its epicentre but GA duty seismologist Steve Tatham said no land tremors had been reported.

He said the risk of the quake triggering a tsunami was unlikely.

“It was a low magnitude and not in a position where the nature of the rupture could disturb the bottom of the sea and the water’s pretty shallow there anyway so there’s not much water to displace,” Mr Tatham said.

The Department of Mines and Petroleum maps shows there are no oil and gas rigs in the area surrounding the earthquake.

It struck 200km north-west of the nearest major regional town, Port Hedland.

“This earthquake at 4.1 is extremely typical of earthquakes in the region,” Mr Tatham said.

“All the earthquakes in the area have fallen between two and five (magnitude) with the majority between three and four.”

In October, a 4.2-magnitude surface level quake was recorded 90km north-east of Port Hedland, near Pardoo.

At the time, a GA spokesman said the region averaged one earthquake a year the largest being a 5.6 magnitude event in 1961.