LEONGATHA, VIC. — Geoscience Australia recorded the earthquake, with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 on the Richter scale, near Leongatha, southeast of Melbourne at 2.01am AEST (1601hrs 2/10/26 UTC).
An aftershock of 3.1 was recorded a short time later, with further, smaller aftershocks continuing.
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.
Social media users were quick to report the disturbance.
“Straight to Facebook to make sure a plane didn’t fall out of the sky,” one wrote.
Another user near Cranbourne said their bed briefly became a waterbed, while another wrote the sound was like a freight train.
So far, there have been no reports of damage.
Geoscience Australia said it had received thousands of reports from people who said they had felt the earthquake.
Posting on Facebook, Brian Morley in Narre Warren said “felt it and woke me up”, while Theresa Stevens said: “Shook our house in Garfield.”
Other posts indicated the quake had been felt in Preston, Heidelberg Heights, Venus Bay and many other parts of Melbourne.
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 that 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.
Victoria’s State Emergency Service said the earthquake was a “timely reminder” to remember the drill to follow during an earthquake and that was drop to the ground, take cover under a sturdy piece of furniture and protect your head and neck, and hold on until the shaking stops.
The Bureau of Meteorology said there was no tsunami threat from the quake.
