Broken Hill records seven earthquakes in 2025 – the largest in recorded history

The sudden shaking of the ground in Broken Hill is not out of the ordinary.

The westernmost city in New South Wales is an active mining town, and the mines explode at 6:45am and 6:45pm every day.

Since the mid-1960s, “automated coverage” has detected large earthquakes across Australia.

Since then, the Australian Geosciences Authority has recorded between zero and three earthquakes annually within a 100km radius of the city centre, ranging in magnitude from magnitude 1.5 in 1979 to magnitude 4 in January this year.

But 2025 was somewhat out of the ordinary, with seven earthquakes recorded by Geoscience Australia, the most in recorded history.

Random event?

Earthquake records recorded by the Australian Geosciences Authority within 100 km of Broken Hill town center date back to 1966.

Leading seismologist Jonathan Griffin said there was no specific reason why Broken Hill would have such a fragile year.

“Earthquakes generally occur randomly in time,” Dr. Griffin said.

“The continent as a whole is kind of under pressure.”

Compared to Dubbo, the closest regional center to Broken Hill in New South Wales, the Silver City has seen fewer earthquakes, but there has been a sudden rise in the number of quakes over the past 12 months.

There doesn't seem to be a pattern in the magnitude of earthquakes either.

Dr Griffin said one explanation could be the age and movement of rocks around Broken Hill.

“The rocks in the Broken Hill area are very old, 1.6 to 1.7 billion years old. Those rocks have been through a lot, they have a long lifespan, and there were periods of mountain building in that past there…during which mineralization occurred.”

Broken Hill's busy year could be due to several factors, says Jonathan Griffin. (Supplied: Earth Sciences Australia)

“What could happen, because we are pushing down on the continent, some of these old faults and old weak points could pop up with smaller to moderate earthquakes from time to time.”

Community members also wondered whether the town's long mining history had anything to do with land movement, but Dr. Griffin said this was unlikely.

“There is currently no evidence to suggest that the series of earthquakes that occurred around Broken Hill this year are related to mining,” he said.

“In some cases, mining can trigger nearby earthquakes, however, detailed monitoring is required to determine the correlation.”

None of the earthquakes that struck Broken Hill resulted in injuries or deaths.

“Feeling renewed”

Michael Poland's first job was at Silver City Cinema when he was 15 years old. Now he runs the show as general manager.

Michael Bolland has been involved in cinema most of his life. (ABC Broken Hill: Cocohalla Connor)

In October, Broken Hill was hit by a magnitude 3 earthquake, and during a routine inspection that week, its staff reported a crack in one of the foundation supports beneath the operating room.

“It was caused by the earthquake as well as movement over time,” Boland said.

“We made a decision to close the cinema until decisions were issued by one of the engineers.”

The concrete blocks under the stage have since been replaced, with an engineering report stating that the structure is safe.

The cinema was closed and the foundations replaced. (ABC Broken Hill: Cocohalla Connor)

Mr Boland has spent most of his life in the regional community and was not surprised by the number of earthquakes this year.

“They always feel different from mine explosions; [they] “You have a feeling of rolling, you feel that they are rolling, whereas when the mine explodes it is different,” he said.

“Maybe this is something that if you're not from Broken Hill, you probably don't understand.”

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