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The magnitude-4.8 earthquake was felt southeast of Melbourne just after 2am on Saturday morning.
A 4.8-magnitude earthquake has been detected in Victoria, waking thousands in the early hours of Saturday. A slumbering state has been briefly shaken to life in the early hours, with the biggest earthquake to hit Victoria in three years.
Geoscience Australia recorded the tremor, with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale, near Leongatha southeast of Melbourne at 2.01am. Seismologist Dr Hadi Ghasemi said a significant number of felt reports had been received, with nearly 18,000 people saying they felt the earth move. Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Another user near Cranbourne said their bed briefly became a waterbed, while another wrote the sound was like a freight train. It was the largest Victorian earthquake since October 2023, when a 5.0 magnitude quake hit the Great Ocean Road southwest of Melbourne. A magnitude 5.9 earthquake in September 2021 damaged buildings in Melbourne, with reports of seismic activity increasing since then.
Dr Ghasemi said in the event of an earthquake people should drop, take cover under a sturdy piece of furniture if possible and hold on to the ground until the shaking passes. Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.
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