A 3.6-magnitude earthquake struck the Blue Mountains area west of Sydney

A 3.6-magnitude earthquake rattled the Blue Mountains area west of Sydney on Friday evening, occurring approximately 9 kilometers beneath the surface in the Blue Mountains National Park near Warragamba around 8:53 pm, according to Geoscience Australia. Thousands of reports flooded in from individuals who felt the quake, though experts describe it as relatively weak.

Residents, including Leura resident Justin Hale, recounted their experiences, with Hale noting that local dogs began barking shortly before the quake struck. He described the event as a sudden jolt, causing his computer monitor to sway before subsiding.

there were no reports of damage or injuries. The New South Wales State Emergency Service and police patrolled the affected areas, but no significant incidents were reported.

Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Hadi Ghasemi clarified that while the quake was felt widely, its strength was modest. The epicenter was located within the Blue Mountains National Park, approximately 20 kilometers southwest of Penrith, with a shallow depth of less than 10 kilometers and a magnitude of 3.6.

Ghasemi also noted historical seismic activity in the region, with 98 recorded shocks within a 100-kilometer radius of the epicenter in the past century, 10 of which measured a magnitude of three or higher.