Indonesian earthquake wakes Darwin residents
Before we kick off the blog properly, there’s news of an earthquake that was an early wake-up call for Darwin residents this morning.
A large earthquake which hit the seas off Indonesia has been felt across northern Australia, with many taking to social media to say it was one of the most powerful they’ve ever experienced.
Massive shaking in Darwin, longest & strongest I’ve felt in over 50 years here. 7.8 in the Banda Sea. Hope our Indonesians friends across the waters are okay. #earthquake #Darwin #BandaSea
— CathrynInDarwin (@CathrynInDarwin) January 9, 2023
The magnitude of the earthquake which struck the Tanimbar region in Indonesia was 7.6 according to Geoscience Australia.
The quake was at a depth of 97km below the earth’s surface, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.
The bureau of meteorology has said the earthquake poses no Tsunami threat to Australia.
Key events
Filters BETA
Flood victims sleep rough amid aid delays
More on the situation in the Kimberley which last week experienced Western Australia’s worst flood on record. AAP reports:
Desperate residents in a flood-ravaged remote Western Australian town are being forced to sleep rough as a sodden runway slows the delivery of essential aid.
Roads to Fitzroy Crossing remain cut off by flood waters up to 50km wide, with only helicopters and small planes able to land at the airstrip. Mark Anderson, the chief executive of the Foundation for Indigenous Sustainable Health, said:
One of the challenges has been the capacity to get the large planes into the airport.
The airstrip was covered by water for a week … It still looks like an ocean on the edge of the airport.
The foundation is working with the WA government to deliver non-food essential supplies, like bedding, clothing and cookware, to residents who have lost everything. It has only been able to get four pallets of goods into the town in two days and was forced to ration supplies in the town, with many people turned away.
Anderson said:
We could only give two towels to each family group and we were getting houses that had 15 people living in them.
The slow arrival of the aid has meant some families, including children, are forced to sleep on the ground after the floodwaters destroyed their beds. Others only have the clothes they are wearing.
This young couple came in with their disabled daughter and the only thing we could give them was one fitted sheet. We didn’t have any mattresses left and they were sleeping on the floor with their little one in a house of more than 10 people.
There was nothing I could do.
Government to unveil more details on support for industry transition to net zero
The government is also expected to announce changes to the safeguard mechanism, which is a centrepiece of Labor’s plan to cut emissions. Watt says he is in Gladstone today with the energy minister, Chris Bowen, where they will have more to say about how the government will provide support to assist industry in the transition.
Watt:
The way the safeguards mechanism will work is, essentially, requiring some of the largest emitting facilities in our country to reduce their emissions over time.
This is something that we went to the election saying we would do. It’s something supported by the business council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group [and] the Chamber of Commerce. It’s a sensible measure to ensure our largest emitting facilities, things like smelters and mines, do gradually bring down their emissions over time.
Chris Bowen will have more to say in terms of the support the government is providing to assist with that transition. But the other point that’s worth making [is] most of the facilities have plans in place to reduce their emissions.
Most of them have committed to net zero themselves by 2050 and most of them have very advanced plans underway to use different types of fuel and to reduce their emissions, because they know their ongoing financial viability depends on reducing their emissions and meeting the requirements of their investors and their export markets.
No reports of damage in Australia from Indonesian earthquake, emergency management minister says
The emergency management minister, Murray Watt, is doing the rounds on breakfast television and radio. He’s speaking to ABC News following the radio interview.
Watt says he has not received any reports of damage in the Darwin “at this stage”.
Obviously that’s a pretty scary incident for people to have to go through in Darwin. But at this stage we haven’t heard of any reports of damage on the Australian mainland.
Good morning!
Natasha May
We kicked off the blog with that breaking news out of the Top End of the country (that is, the Top End region of the Northern Territory), which was jolted awake by a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck the seas off Indonesia. It was felt across a swathe of northern Australia, including Darwin, but the Bureau of Meteorology says there is no tsunami threat to Australia.
In other news this morning, support for the Kimberley is being ramped up today following WA’s worst flooding on record. Emergency services, government agencies and the defence force will all intensify their response as the full extent of the devastation becomes clearer.
The emergency management minister, Murray Watt, who toured the region yesterday with the prime minister, told ABC Radio this morning that the government will ensure Western Australia receives as much support from the Australian Defence Force as it needs.
We’re ready to assist in any way where state government needs greater support … as of today, we expect there to be about 200 troops in the Kimberley.
Watt also said getting supplies into the area amongst all the infrastructure damage remains a challenge.
The reality is the infrastructure damage is so severe it’s going to take time.
In South Australia, the search continues for a man who went missing in South Australia’s flooded Riverland region yesterday. South Australian police say they were alerted at 1.30pm yesterday “to an elderly man believed to have gone missing in waters near Casson Avenue”.
In Tasmania, a bushfire at Lake Pedder in the south-west continues to burn, four days after it was reported.
The review of Australia’s carbon credit scheme which was revealed yesterday continues to draw a mixed response. We’ll continue to bring you any updates on that issue.
Let’s get back into it!
No tsunami threat to Australia from Indonesian earthquake: BoM
The Bureau of Meteorology has said there is no tsunami threat to Australia from the earthquake off Indonesian waters.
The official Indonesian tsunami service concurs. In a bulletin posted this morning it said:
Based on historical data and tsunami modelling, this earthquake is not capable of generating a tsunami affecting the Indian Ocean region.
Some more visuals from residents in northern Australia who were jolted by that magnitude 7.6 earthquake in waters off Indonesia in the early hours of this morning.
You can hear the tremor of the earthquake in this video posted by Northern Territory News reporter Annabel Bowles from her Darwin apartment.
Geoscience Australia has received over 2,000 felt reports.
For many, the tremors got them out of bed in the early hours of the morning.
Indonesian earthquake wakes Darwin residents
Before we kick off the blog properly, there’s news of an earthquake that was an early wake-up call for Darwin residents this morning.
A large earthquake which hit the seas off Indonesia has been felt across northern Australia, with many taking to social media to say it was one of the most powerful they’ve ever experienced.
Massive shaking in Darwin, longest & strongest I’ve felt in over 50 years here. 7.8 in the Banda Sea. Hope our Indonesians friends across the waters are okay. #earthquake #Darwin #BandaSea
— CathrynInDarwin (@CathrynInDarwin) January 9, 2023
The magnitude of the earthquake which struck the Tanimbar region in Indonesia was 7.6 according to Geoscience Australia.
The quake was at a depth of 97km below the earth’s surface, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.
The bureau of meteorology has said the earthquake poses no Tsunami threat to Australia.
