Australia launches earthquake hazard map

CANBERRA - Australian researchers have developed a series of maps that will provide new information on which areas of Australia are susceptible to earthquakes, according to a latest research on Monday.

The National Earthquake Hazard Map of Australia, which has been developed following detailed examination of past earthquakes in Australia by seismologists at Geoscience Australia, was released by the Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson today.

Ferguson said the series of maps are a national scale assessment of earthquake hazard across Australia and estimate the likelihood of a particular area experiencing strong ground shaking from earthquakes.

These information is intended for incorporation into Australia's building code, a step which would support engineers to design structures to better withstand the likely ground shaking that will be experienced at a particular location.

"The underlying models and datasets, which have also been made publicly available, can be used by emergency managers, regional and urban planners, the insurance industry and researchers to undertake more detailed analysis," Minister Ferguson said in a statement.

Since 1950 Australia has experienced 168 earthquakes above magnitude 5.0 and in 2011 there were 82 events recorded at magnitude 3.0 or above.