Magnitude 4.8 earthquake shakes Melbourne and regional Victoria
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake jolted residents awake across Melbourne and parts of regional Victoria early on Saturday, October 3 —with reports of swaying homes, rattling windows and shaking beds.
According to Geoscience Australia, the earthquake struck at about 2.01am at a depth of approximately 10 kilometres. Its epicentre was reported near Arawata, northwest of Leongatha in South Gippsland, roughly 130 kilometres from Melbourne.
Thousands of residents quickly reported feeling the tremor. Early coverage put the number of reports to Geoscience Australia at more than 14,000, rising to around 15,000 as further accounts came in. Reports extended across Melbourne and to Traralgon, Mansfield, Geelong and Torquay.
The unexpected shaking prompted frightened residents to share their experiences on social media. Some described their houses moving and windows rattling, while others said they woke to find their beds swaying.
“I thought someone was trying to get in my front door”, one resident wrote on Facebook.
Another resident in Leongatha described hearing a loud booming noise and initially believing an explosion had occurred nearby. The accounts reflected the confusion caused by the sudden overnight tremor, with residents turning to social media to confirm that others had experienced the same movement.
There were no confirmed reports of significant damage or injuries in the initial local coverage. However, information remained preliminary in the hours immediately after the earthquake.
Earthquake magnitudes and locations can be revised as additional seismic information is analysed. The early reports described a tremor felt across a broad area, waking households throughout metropolitan Melbourne and beyond.
Saturday’s tremor follows the larger magnitude 5.9 earthquake that damaged Melbourne properties in September 2021, along with several smaller earthquakes since then.
The Victorian State Emergency Service advised people requiring assistance to call 132 500. (NQ)
