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Toowoomba woken by earthquake

For immediate release, Wednesday 25th June 2003

An earthquake occurred last night near Toowoomba, west of Brisbane QLD at 2.07am local time (16.07 UT). The magnitude 2.7 earthquake was relatively shallow at 5km depth.

"Residents as far away as 8km from the epicentre may have felt a jolt from the magnitude 2.7 earthquake," Andrew Owen, seismologist at Geoscience Australia said.

The earthquake epicentre was approximately 12km north of Toowoomba and would have been felt widely by light sleepers in the local area.

"We had calls from residents in the area, including the local policeman, who were woken by the earthquake." Mr Owen added.

"Earthquakes of this size are not uncommon in the area, with over 83 occurring within a 200km radius over the last 100 years".

The last significant earthquake in the area was a magnitude 2.8, which occurred in December 2002.