Melbourne residents warned of aftershocks after 3.8 magnitude earthquake hit overnight. Source: Misaochan2, Wikimedia Commons
Melbourne residents have been warned this morning of aftershocks following a 3.8 magnitude earthquake overnight.
The earthquake hit Sunbury, west of Melbourne, but its impact was felt throughout the CBD. Residents reported seeing buildings shaking at around 11:41pm on Sunday night.
The quake had a depth of three kilometres and lasted only a few seconds, according to residents.
The tremor was felt as far north as Bendigo and as far south as Hobart.
The SES has urged residents to prepare for aftershocks.
Tim Wiebusch, chief operations officer of Victoria’s State Emergency Service (SES), said that though many people felt the tremor, there have been no reports of serious injuries or damages so far.
“The size that we’re talking about at a 3.8 it’s typically, definitely felt indoors by many and also by those outdoors,” Mr Wiebusch told ABC Radio Melbourne.
“You would hear that sudden rush like a train noise that some people experience but it has been widely felt all the way from Geelong to Ballarat, out to Seymour, down on the Mornington Peninsula and as north as Murchison.”
Adam Pascale, chief scientist at the Seismology Research Centre (SRC), said the earthquake may have been the largest in the Melbourne metropolitan area in over 100 years.
“The last earthquake above a magnitude 4 in the metro area was in 1902,” Mr Pascale said in a video posted on Twitter.
Back in September 2021, Melbourne was hit by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake, the largest earthquake ever to be recorded in Victoria. Its epicentre was at Woods Point, about 130 kilometres east of Melbourne.
The 2021 tremor was felt in parts of New South Wales, South Australia, the ACT, and Tasmania.
According to Geoscience Australia, Australia experiences an average of 100 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or larger per year, while earthquakes of magnitude 5 or more occur every one or two years.
