Geohazards
The east side of the island of Tasmania is in a low earthquake area. The western highlands is part of a belt of seismic activity that includes highlands in eastern Victoria and New South Wales. Just off the north east coast is a point with a large number of tremors, believed to be an incipient volcano. Macquarie Island is in an earthquake region. On 23 December 2004 an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter magnitude scale (one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded) rocked the island, but caused little damage.
The last major earthquake in Tasmania was between magnitude 6.5 and 7 at the Lake Edgar Fault in the Recent Period, but more than 200 years ago.
On 4 June 1872, a large landslip collapsed part of the side of Mount Arthur. A huge debris flow descended Humphrys Rivulet, stripping the upstream parts of trees and regolith. Where Glenorchy is now, a flood 600 meters wide engulfed farms. Broken trees, boulders, and mud were deposited. Remarkably no one lost their life as all escaped to safety when hearing the rumbling in the distance.
Read more about this topic: Geology Of Tasmania