Two earthquakes strike near Monto in regional Queensland within four days

Two earthquakes have been felt near the rural Queensland town of Monto within four days of each other. The quakes measured magnitude 3.5 and 3.6 and struck about 34 kilometres south-east of the town, in the Wide Bay region. The second tremor was reported just after 4am on Thursday and was strong enough to rattle furniture and wake people.

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The first was felt just before 8am on Monday. Geoscience Australia seismologist Tanja Pejic said the Thursday earthquake would have been noticeable to people in the area. She said the pattern of two quakes in the same spot over a short period was rare, but not unheard of in the Wide Bay region.

Dr Pejic said that in the last 36 years, about 576 earthquakes had been recorded within a 200-kilometre radius of the two events, which she said was about half the number recorded across Queensland in the same period. The shaking did not appear to have caused major damage, but it was significant enough to be felt by residents in a regional area where seismic activity is usually less visible than in larger earthquake zones. The events also drew attention because they followed one another so closely in the same location.

That has made the sequence notable for local communities and for seismologists monitoring the state's earthquake patterns. The Wide Bay and North Burnett areas have a history of seismic activity, and the latest quakes fit a broader pattern of occasional clusters. Dr Pejic said the region can experience multiple earthquakes in a short timeframe before going quiet again for a period.

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She said researchers still do not know why that happens and that more study is needed to explain the pattern. The article also placed the Monto quakes in a wider Queensland context. It noted that the state's largest recorded earthquake was a magnitude 6.3 event off Bundaberg in 1918.

It also referred to a magnitude 6.1 earthquake at Gayndah in 1935, earthquakes near Eidsvold in 2015, and a series of offshore quakes near K'gari in July 2015. More recently, a magnitude 5.6 quake near Kilkivan in 2025 was described as the largest onshore earthquake in Queensland in more than 50 years. What remains unclear is why the same area near Monto was struck twice in such a short period.

There is no indication from the available material of any damage, injuries or further aftershocks. The main thing to watch is whether seismologists record additional activity in the Wide Bay region and whether the latest pair adds to the evidence for a recurring local pattern.

#Queensland #Monto #earthquake #GeoscienceAustralia #WideBay

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