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A 4.8 magnitude earthquake centered near Leongatha, approximately 135 km southeast of Melbourne, struck at 2 a.m., followed by a 3.1 magnitude aftershock an hour later. Over 14,000 people reported feeling the tremor, which caused houses to shake and windows to rattle. Geoscience Australia urged residents to report their experiences to help assess potential impacts of future quakes.
Geoscience Australia reported the tremor struck at 2am near Leongatha, about 135km southeast of Melbourne, as a 4.8 magnitude at a depth of around 10km.
More than 14,000 people have reported feeling the tremor, Geoscience Australia said, who later reported a 3.1 magnitude aftershock about an hour later. Geoscience Australia Seismologist Hadi Ghasemi said locals reporting the earthquake helps officials understand where would be most impacted if a larger tremor were to occur.
“As soon as people feel the ground shaking, the advice would be to drop, cover and hold until the ground shaking passes,” he said. “And when it is safe then they can basically try to visit the website and report how they felt during the shake. ”Korumburra local Jason Kelly told Sunrise that he was getting ready for work when he “heard a massive bang”.
“The house did shake, but it didn’t last real long, it was probably only two seconds then it was done and dusted. ” Kelly added that it was “nowhere near as bad” as other earthquakes which have struck the region in the past. Residents also took to social media to share their shock of the late-night tremor with some saying they felt their houses sway and windows rattle.
“I felt my bed swaying,” another person wrote. A Leongatha resident said they felt it was a “huge explosion nearby”, adding “the house shook” and there was a “booming noise”. The largest earthquake ever recorded in Australia is generally considered the 1941 Meeberrie earthquake in Western Australia, which reached magnitude 6.9. More on this breaking story on Weekend Sunrise live from 7am.
If you have any vision from the quake please send it to sunrise@seven.com.au.
Earthquake Leongatha Melbourne Geoscience Australia Aftershock
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