1954 Adelaide earthquake
The 1954 Adelaide earthquake had its epicentre at Darlington, a suburb of the city of Adelaide in South Australia, some 12 km (7.5 mi) to the south of the Adelaide city centre. The quake took place at 3.40am in the early morning of 1 March 1954 and had a reported magnitude of 5.6.[1] An area of more than 700 km² sustained an intensity greater than V on the Mercalli intensity scale.
Geology
Damage
The total cost of the damage was estimated at around £17 million (2010: $500 million), but only £3 million (2010:$90 million) was paid out in insurance for 30,303 claims, covering around 22% of the damaged buildings. Adelaide in 1954 was still subject to wartime rationing, and most damaged property was uninsured.[3] The earthquake was the most destructive earthquake in recorded Australian history until 1989, when it was eclipsed by the 5.6 Richter magnitude Newcastle earthquake, which caused $4 billion damage, killed 13 people, and injured 160.
One of the settlement’s earliest buildings, the Victoria Hotel, suffered partial collapse. Other major buildings severely damaged included the local Catholic cathedral, St Francis Xavier Cathedral, the General Post Office clock tower, and a newly completed hospital in Blackwoodwhich sustained major damage in all its wards and offices (though an operating theatre survived).[2] The Britannia statue in Pirie Street, Adelaide was badly damaged, and since it had also been similarly damaged in the 1897 Beachport and 1902 Warookaearthquakes, the clock in the statue was permanently removed. Outside of Adelaide there was little damage. The Troubridge Island Lighthouse off the south east corner of Yorke Peninsula, 83 km west of Adelaide across the Gulf St Vincent, shut down after the quake damaged its generator, while the Cape St Albans Lighthouse on Kangaroo Island began flashing irregularly.[4]
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