Residents left shaken after Qld hit by large meteor and earthquake
Thought you saw a flash of light overnight followed by the ground shaking? Don’t worry, you weren’t dreaming…
Queensland has reportedly experienced both a meteor strike and earthquake just hours apart.
According to Higgins Storm Chasing, hundreds of people reported seeing the bright flash of light in areas including Gladstone, Hervey Bay and Yeppoon around 8.30pm.
“It looks like a meteorite has impacted somewhere offshore from the general Gladstone area,” the group posted on Facebook.
“A bright flash or light has been reported by hundreds of people, this light was seen as far South as Hervey Bay and as far North as Yeppoon with a tremor being felt upon impact over the general Gladstone area and Boyne Island.”
Queensland Police also received multiple reports of the strike with worried residents seeking an explanation for what had occurred.
No, we don’t know anything about a meteor shower near Gladstone, but we know some people who might. #TheTruthIsOutThere pic.twitter.com/ENESz20XFv
— QPS Media Unit (@QPSmedia) September 26, 2016
Social media instantly lit up, with hundreds of people taking to Facebook and Twitter to report what they had just seen. Ellie Thompson posted a dramatic video showing the moment the meteor allegedly struck.
WATCH:
[fb_pe url=”https://www.facebook.com/Tyige/videos/vb.632264031/10154109736829032/?type=2&theater” bottom=”30″]
Shortly after the strike, the state was hit by a magnitude 3.8 earthquake off Airlie Beach.
The quake struck at 10.15pm and could be felt by people up to 51km away, Geoscience Australia confirmed.
No #tsunami threat to Australia from a magnitude 3.8 #earthquake off the coast near Airlie Bech, QLD. https://t.co/eUaVPYiuwc pic.twitter.com/Qed2TzAaTI
— BOM Australia (@BOM_au) September 26, 2016
The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed there was no tsunami threat to Australia.
