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Minor earthquake felt in Young

For immediate release, Tuesday 08 March 2005

A minor earthquake of magnitude 2.5 on the Richter scale occurred today at 4pm local time a few kilometres south-east of Young, in southern NSW.

"The event was felt by local residents with reports of houses and offices shaking," said Geoscience Australia Duty Seismologist Dr Cvetan Sinadinovski. "An earthquake of this size can be felt up to 10 km from the epicenter and is primarily felt as vertical movement."

"No structural damage would be expected from an earthquake of this size," added Dr Sinadinovski.

An earthquake of this magnitude is felt approximately once per year within a 50 km radius of Young. The last one of similar size reported to Geoscience Australia was in August 2002. The largest event felt in this region occurred in 1947 and had a magnitude of 4.6.

For more information or to arrange an interview, call the Geoscience Australia Duty Seismologist on 0407 216 622 or the Geoscience Australia Media Hotline (24 hours) on Freecall 1800 882 035.

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