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Magnitude 4.9 earthquake south of Adelaide felt across the city

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake in waters south of Adelaide on the morning of 27 October (local time) was felt by residents across the city. Geoscience Australia recorded the quake and hundreds of felt reports, mostly of weak to light shaking.

2 outlets · 1L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: ABC News (Australia)
Image: BNO News

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The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in waters south of Adelaide, South Australia, on the morning of Tuesday 27 October local time, and residents across the city reported feeling it. Centre · 1BNO News, citing Geoscience Australia, put the epicentre in the Southern Ocean about 170 kilometres (105 miles) south of Adelaide, at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles). Left · 1Callers to ABC Adelaide's 891 radio line described rattling and shaking that lasted several seconds.

Left · 1Kate, from Reynella in Adelaide's south, said her whole bed moved and her coffee spilled, while Brian, from Goolwa, said his pot plants started vibrating and he heard a bit of a rumble. Centre · 1Geoscience Australia's website listed 533 felt reports, most from the Adelaide area, with most indicating weak to light shaking. Mixed · 2Neither report mentioned damage or injuries.

Centre · 1BNO News noted that the Adelaide region is one of Australia's most seismically active areas and straddles several faults, according to Geoscience Australia. Centre · 1It recalled that a March 1954 earthquake damaged about 3,000 buildings in the city and seriously injured three people, collapsing chimneys, cracking walls and smashing windows.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left1 outlet

Framing
A breaking-news item built on residents' first-hand experiences of the shaking, with Geoscience Australia's magnitude as the only technical detail.
Emphasis
Personal accounts from callers in Reynella and Goolwa: a moving bed, spilled coffee, vibrating pot plants, a rumble.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not give the depth, distance from Adelaide, felt-report count or seismic history that BNO News includes.
Charged language
“Breaking”
For example
“Callers to 891 ABC Adelaide reported rattling and shaking this morning, for several seconds.” — ABC News (Australia)

Centre1 outlet

Framing
A short, data-led wire-style report on the quake's size, location and depth, with context on local seismic risk.
Emphasis
Magnitude, time, distance and depth, the 533 felt reports and the 1954 Adelaide earthquake.
Leaves out or plays down
Includes no first-hand accounts from residents.
For example
“The agency’s website listed 533 felt reports, most of them from the Adelaide area, with most indicating weak to light shaking.” — BNO News

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

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