M5.7 earthquake - 37 km NNW of Whitsundays, Australia

What happened

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 37 km NNW of Whitsundays, Australia on 18 Aug 2016, 04:30 UTC at a depth of 10 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Mackay, about 153 km away in Queensland, Australia.