Magnitude 3.6 Earthquake Rattles Blue Mountains Area in Sydney’s West

An earthquake with a magnitude of 3.6 has shaken the Blue Mountains area in Sydney‘s west, striking near Silverdale on Friday evening. The seismic event, recorded by Geoscience Australia and confirmed by the NSW Rural Fire Service, occurred in the vicinity of Warragamba, just inside the Blue Mountains National Park. The tremor, which had a depth of eight kilometers, reverberated through the region at 8:53pm.

Residents in Blue Mountains and parts of Sydney’s western suburbs reported feeling the quake, prompting calls to the Blue Mountains and Nepean Police about a ‘loud bang’ preceding the event. Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries or damages resulting from the earthquake. Courtney Hollis, a long-time resident of Lawson, described the sensation as similar to a freight train passing by or a truck speeding along the highway, marking the first earthquake experience in her 34 years of living in the area.

Koleta and Terry McDonald from Woodford, located east of Lawson, also felt the quake while watching TV. Koleta recalled the rumbling noise and shaking of the house, with Terry initially mistaking it for the excitement of a sports game he was watching. While they have resided in the Blue Mountains for over three decades, the earthquake left them and their neighbors in disbelief but unharmed.

Notably, smaller earthquakes in the region are relatively common, with the Seismology Research Centre regularly noting numerous sub-magnitude-2 tremors weekly. Friday’s magnitude 3.6 event, although mild in comparison to larger quakes, was substantial enough to be felt at street level, prompting reactions from residents across the Blue Mountains, including in Katoomba and Leura.