Melbourne has been hit by an earthquake this morning as residents reported loud bangs and shaking.
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According to the Seismology Research Centre, the magnitude 2.3 earthquake occurred near Ferntree Gully in the city’s eastern suburbs. It said the event occurred around 11.15am.
More than 100 residents reported feeling the quake to Geoscience Australia.
One resident in Olinda said their whole house had been shaken.
“I felt it in Olinda at 11:15am. It was like an explosion that shook my whole house,” they said.
Others said they heard loud bangs.
“Heard it in Belgrave. Thought it was thunder actually. Didn’t feel any shaking though,” one resident said.
“Heard & felt it in Bayswater North. Short, sharp & rattled the house for 1-2 seconds,” another said.
A resident in Montrose, east of the city, reported feeling “rumbling, rattling and a loud explosion-like sound”.
A Belgrave resident said “it was so small I thought it was just a truck being unloaded”.
The Bureau of Meteorology said there is no tsunami threat to Australia.
In September, 2021, Victoria was rocked by a record-breaking 5.8 magnitude earthquake.
It hit near the small town of Mansfield, 110 miles north-east of Melbourne, and was one of the largest to hit Australia in decades. It was six miles deep, according to Geoscience Australia.
That earthquake was felt as far away as Sydney and Tasmania. It shook buildings and knocked down walls as residents said it sounded like a ‘jet engine’.
It was followed by two 4.0 and 3.1 magnitude aftershocks 18 and 39 minutes later – both within 10km of the original tremors.