March 9, 1973 Earthquake: Wollongong, Sydney, Australia

Name: March 9, 1973 Earthquake: Wollongong, Sydney, Australia
Start: 1973-03-09
Location: Wollongong, Sydney, Australia

March 9, 1973 · M5.3 · $530,000

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Wollongong, Sydney, Australia on March 9, 1973 at 19:09:12 UTC, 13 km below the surface.

Map

Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.

The earthquake

Date: March 9, 1973
Time: 19:09:12 UTC
Place: Wollongong, Sydney, Australia
Magnitude: 5.3 (Ms)
Focal depth: 13 km (8 mi)
Intensity: 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 34.130° S, 150.270° E
Country: Australia

The toll

Damage: $530,000

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Minor damage (VI) in Sydney Area (reference #1053)

2 million $AUS (1990) [1.5 million USD (1990); 0.53 million USD (1973)] (reference #14033)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1973 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1973 Recent earthquakes near here This day in weather history

Sources

Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4630.