All shook up: 3.8 magnitude quake hits Melbourne suburb
A 3.8 magnitude earthquake has struck in Melbourne’s northwest but there have been no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage.
(Image: Denise Jans/Unsplash)
Geoscience Australia tweeted that the quake struck at a depth of 3km at Sunbury, about 40km northwest of the city, at 11.41pm on Sunday.
Thousands of people contacted the agency to report they had felt the shaking.
Seismology Research Centre Chief Scientist Adam Pascale took to Twitter to say it had been the largest earthquake in over 100 years in the Melbourne metropolitan area.
Victoria’s SES tweeted there had been no injuries or serious damage reported from the quake.
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 earthquakes 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.
On average, around 100 earthquakes of magnitude three or larger are recorded in Australia each year.
The Bureau of Meteorology said there is no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories as a result of the quake.
