On Sunday, Melbourne was hit by a rare and shallow earthquake that caused minimal damage throughout the city. With a magnitude of 3.8, it was the most significant earthquake to strike the Australian city in over a century. The quake, which occurred at 11:41 pm local time, originated from the northwestern suburb of Sunbury and had a depth of approximately 2 kilometers, according to government agency Geoscience Australia.
The seismic event was felt as far away as Hobart on the island of Tasmania and the city of Bendigo, about 150 kilometers north of Melbourne. As a result, Geoscience Australia has received more than 21,000 reports of the earthquake.
This quake is the largest earthquake to occur within 40 kilometers of Melbourne since 1902 when a 4.5-magnitude quake hit the city. Many people across the city woke up to the shaking, including Adam Pascale, the chief scientist at the Victoria-based Seismology Research Centre, who said on Twitter that the earthquake had woken him up from sleep. He described the shaking as lasting between 5-10 seconds and causing minor shaking.
Residents across Melbourne and surrounding areas have shared their experiences of the earthquake, with some describing it as feeling like a plane had crashed near their home. Others shared their experiences of the skyscrapers swaying and creaking, while some even admitted running out of their houses with a machete in their pajamas.
Despite being rare in Australia, earthquakes can occur due to tectonic plate movement. In 2021, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Victoria, causing minor structural damage in Melbourne despite hitting nearly 200 kilometers away.
Thankfully, there were no reports of any injuries or serious damage caused by the earthquake. The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed via Twitter that there was no threat of a tsunami from the quake. However, emergency services have warned of the possibility of aftershocks from the event.