FACT CHECK: A 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Did Not Hit Sydney, Australia
CLAIM: 7.1 magnitude earthquake" that allegedly struck Sydney
RATING:
The Claim
A video circulating widely across social media platforms—including Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube—purports to show footage of a "7.1 magnitude earthquake" that allegedly struck Sydney, Australia recently. The footage shows buildings shaking violently, damaged infrastructure, and people fleeing to safety.
The video has been shared by Facebook account "John Ikulala" and TikTok account @world.weather2, among others, with captions definitively stating: "7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Sydney, Australia today."
Our investigation reveals this claim is completely fabricated. The footage shows a January 2024 earthquake in Japan, not a recent event in Sydney.
The Evidence
Misappropriated Footage
Our digital forensic analysis confirms the video being shared as "Sydney earthquake footage" is actually from the powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan's Noto province on January 1, 2024.
Multiple reputable news sources documented this Japanese earthquake with identical footage:
BBC News reported on January 2, 2024: "Japan earthquake: Powerful tremors destroy buildings and trigger evacuations" with video matching the circulating clips
ABC News published "Eyewitness captures quake chaos at Japan train station" showing the same scenes
The Standard and The Independent covered the Japan earthquake extensively with matching imagery
Official Seismic Records Contradict the Claim
Geoscience Australia, the government agency that monitors seismic activity across the country, has no record of any significant earthquake activity in Sydney during this period.
Their official records show only two minor seismic events in New South Wales recently:
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake near Boorowa (March 22, 2025)
A magnitude 2.6 earthquake near Boorowa (March 22, 2025)
For context, earthquakes below magnitude 3.0 are considered minor and are rarely felt by people.
Historical Context
Australia's seismic activity is well-documented and relatively mild compared to countries like Japan. The strongest earthquake ever recorded in Australia occurred in Western Australia in 2021, measuring magnitude 6.2—significantly lower than the claimed 7.1 magnitude event.
Sydney, specifically, has experienced only 4 minor earthquakes of magnitude 1.5 or greater in the past 365 days, according to continuous seismic monitoring.
Why This Matters
The spread of false disaster information can have serious consequences:
It creates unnecessary panic among Sydney residents and their concerned loved ones
It diverts attention and potentially resources from real emergencies
It undermines trust in legitimate emergency alerts when they occur
It demonstrates how easily disaster footage can be repurposed for misinformation
Methodology
Our fact-checking process included:
Cross-referencing the video with international news archives
Consulting official seismic monitoring databases
Analyzing timestamp data from the original footage
Verifying architectural features visible in the video
Comparing with verified footage from the January 2024 Japan earthquake
This investigation was conducted in accordance with the International Fact-Checking Network's code of principles.
Have you spotted potentially misleading disaster footage online? Send tips to our fact-checking team. This fact check was completed on March 23, 2025.
At Mencari, we think it's super important to fact-check to fight misinformation and disinformation and to keep citizens and voters informed and educated.
We invite the public to send us their feedback and requests for fact-checks at factcheck@readmencari.com.
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