Tremor shakes NT and beyond

TERRITORIANS have been woken by a big earth tremor that was felt as far away as Katherine. The <A href="http://www.ga.gov.au/earthquakes/getQuakeDetails.do?quakeId=3294961&orid=687658&sta=KDU" target=_blank>7.3 (Richter scale) tremor</A> originated in the Banda Sea, off the coast of Indonesia, at 2.27am CST. The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning centre issued a bulletin minutes later advising the tremor, at 182km underground, did not pose a tsunami risk as it was too deep. There were no initial reports of damage to areas around the site in Indonesia. The event "occurred as a result of predominantly strike-slip faulting at intermediate depths (170 km) near the complex plate boundary between the Australia and Sunda plates in the eastern Banda Sea," according to the <A href="http://earthquake.usgs.gov/aboutus/" target=_blank>United States Geological Survey</A> website. "At the location of this earthquake, the Australia plate moves towards the north-northeast with respect to Sunda at a velocity of approximately 76 mm/yr. "Motion between the two plates is dominantly convergent, and sections of the Australia plate have subducted beneath Sunda; the earthquake likely represents faulting within the interior of that subducted slab." The tremor shook Darwin for several minutes and <A href="http://www.ga.gov.au/earthquakes/getQuakeShakeDamage.do?quakeId=3294961" target=_blank>was felt</A> as far south as Katherine. Staff at Darwin's weather bureau evacuated the building as a precaution. Territorians jumped on to the <A href="https://www.facebook.com/TheNTNews/posts/10151147032630598?notif_t=like" target=_blank>NT News Facebook page</A> to share their quake experiences, some even as it was happening. "I'm on a 5th floor apartment and it woke me up," posted Kylie Nicholson from the CBD. "I'm out on Croker Island... brought back memories of 2011 Christmas in Christchurch... scary," wrote Clare Schoeller. "Oh my god, it sounded like a train," said Shelley Carter in Jingili. "Felt it in Katherine... wow," posted Cass MacMahon. Chris Bradley wrote: "Woke us up big time in Gunbalanya!" Emily Lee Balmer snoozed through: "Didn't feel it in Wulagi... but I am a pretty heavy sleeper." Katie Coleman got a fright: "Woke up because my bed was shaking and I'm thinking it's possessed." Gemma Kassman also was spooked: "Our bed was shaking side to side. It was scary." Megan Brown felt it: "Bloody huge at Rapid Creek, house shook and bed moved about ten inches. Daughters contents of shelves fell off in elevated house, t'was a big shaker that one!" Kevin Fisher posted: "It shook the whole donga at Daly River." BEFORE YOU COMMENT please be aware of <A href="http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/04/04/297415_ntnews.html" target=_blank>The Rules</A> for participation in our forums.     <A href="http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/12/11/315781_ntnews.html">http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/12/11/315781_ntnews.html</A>