Magnitude-5.6 earthquake felt north of Brisbane

A magnitude-5.6 earthquake has struck inland from Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

Geoscience Australia is reporting the epicentre is about 80 kilometres west of Noosa and 250 kilometres north of Brisbane.

People have reported feeling tremors as far south as the Gold Coast and as far north as Hervey Bay.

The quake occurred at a depth of 2km at 9:49am.

More than 8,000 people have submitted "felt reports" to Geosciences Australia.

Danny Donald from Energex said crews were investigating outages near the earthquake's epicentre.

"In total, we've got around about 11,000 customers affected between the Fraser Coast, Burrum Heads, and Murgon," he said.

"Hopefully, if there's nothing broken … we should be able to get things back up and running relatively quickly."

Queensland Rail said services on all Brisbane city lines were running at lower speeds due to the tremor, and trains were delayed by up to 15 minutes.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-16/qld-earthquake-murgon-sunshine-coast-risbane-geoscience-aus/105662170

U.S. SOUTHCOM Deploying 4,000 Troops To Latin American Waters As Counter-Narco-Terror Operations Loom

The Trump administration is preparing for a large force projection across the Latin American and Caribbean theater.

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) will deploy 4,000 Marines and sailors to counter narco-terrorist cartels. The move aims to enhance hemispheric defense and deter or limit Chinese activity in the region, particularly around critical infrastructure and trade chokepoints.

The news of this first comes from CNN, citing unnamed officials who stated:

The deployment of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to US Southern Command, which has not been previously reported, is part of a broader repositioning of military assets to the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility that has been underway over the last three weeks, one of the officials said.

A nuclear-powered attack submarine, additional P8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, several destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser are also being allocated to US Southern Command as part of the mission, the officials said.

A third person familiar with the matter said the additional assets are “aimed at addressing threats to US national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region.”

While the deployment is intended primarily as a deterrent, it gives SOUTHCOM prepositioning and allows Trump broad military options if he orders action against narco-terrorists. Officials note the Marines aren’t trained for drug interdiction and would need Coast Guard support.

The incoming buildup follows a Pentagon directive making border security, counter-narcotics, and protection of the Panama Canal top priorities. The deployment shifts U.S. assets from earlier Northern Command border operations to a sustained SOUTHCOM presence.

Last week, The New York Times reported that Trump issued a directive authorizing the Pentagon to conduct direct military operations against certain Latin American drug cartels. Shortly afterward, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected the future presence of U.S. military forces on her soil.

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/us-southcom-deploying-4000-troops-latin-american-waters-counter-narco-terror-operations