Parts of Melbourne have been shaken by a 3.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the city’s north-west late at night, rattling homes and waking up thousands.
Geoscience Australia said the tremor struck at a depth of 3km at Sunbury, about 40km north-west of the city, at 11.41pm on Sunday. More than 22,750 people contacted the agency to report they had felt shaking.
Most of the reports are centred around Melbourne, but there were some as far north as Bendigo in regional Victoria and as far south as Hobart, Geoscience Australia said in a statement.
Region: Sunbury, VIC
— EarthquakesGA (@EarthquakesGA) May 28, 2023
Mag: 3.8
UTC: 2023-05-28 13:41:51
Lat: -37.54, Lon: 144.84
Dep: 3km
For more info and updates, or if you felt this earthquake, go to https://t.co/5d34rO1qd1
Seismology Research Centre chief scientist Adam Pascale said it was the highest magnitude earthquake with an epicentre in metropolitan Melbourne since 1902.
He said damage usually occurs when earthquakes are above four or five in magnitude but this event may have caused some cosmetic or structural issues as it was quite shallow and close to the city.
“We can start to see damage at this sort of level of earthquake and above,” he told ABC TV on Monday.
“This earthquake is about 100 times smaller than the one two years ago in September 2021, but it was a lot closer to Melbourne. So it was felt in a similar intensity but for a shorter duration.”
— Adam Pascale (@SeisLOLogist) May 28, 2023
Victoria’s SES state commander David Baker said his crews had only received three calls for help following the quake.
“We were fortunate that there was no damage or consequences as a result of the earthquake last night,” Mr Baker told ABC News.
He said there was always a concern of aftershocks.
In the last five years, four other quakes of magnitude three or greater have been recorded in Victoria, including a 5.9 magnitude north of Rawson in 2021 which caused some localised damage.
Tonight’s earthquake measured in at 3.8, compared to September 2021 when we experienced a magnitude 6.0 earthquake here in Victoria.
— VICSES News (@vicsesnews) May 28, 2023
It’s not uncommon for aftershocks to occur after an earthquake. Know what to do if you are impacted by an aftershock: Drop, cover, and hold on. pic.twitter.com/zQnfw1weow
On average, around 100 earthquakes of magnitude three or larger are recorded in Australia each year.
The Bureau of Meteorology said there was no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories as a result of the quake.
