The biggest earthquake to hit parts of the NSW Hunter region in 50 years could have been triggered by coal mining in the region, a geophysicist says.
The 5.0-magnitude quake shook the town of Denman at 12.02pm on Friday, sparking thousands of reports of tremors in the following hour, including from people in Sydney, about 171km south.
It was the biggest earthquake in the area for 50 years, but smaller than the 5.4 magnitude earthquake that devastated Newcastle, 117 km east, in 1989, killing 13 people and flattening hundreds of buildings.
