Earthquake rocks NSW town south-west of Sydney

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/04/earthquake-rocks-nsw-town-south-west-of-sydney

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A New South Wales town has been rocked by a small earthquake in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The magnitude 3.9 earthquake hit Appin about 1.15am and had a wide range, which meant it could be felt by Wollongong residents, who live about 35km away, Geoscience Australia said.

More than 100 people in the area called Geoscience to report they had felt the earthquake, which is strong enough to give someone a bit of a shake while they are in bed, a spokesman said.

Appin has a history of earthquakes, with an average of one tremor every one to two years over the past decade.

Jonathan Bathgate, a Geoscience seismologist, told the ABC there had been many messages from locals about the tremor, but no reports of damage.

“Magnitude 3.9 – it’s certainly a good shake,” he said.

Bathgate said the area had had earthquakes every year or two ranging from magnitude-1.9 to magnitude-4.8.

“But it’s not always consistent – in 2013 there were about five earthquakes in the space of a couple of months – so it certainly is an area that does have a history of seismicity.”