A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck Victoria early Saturday morning, shaking Melbourne and communities across South Gippsland and waking residents across a wide part of the region.
Geoscience Australia recorded the earthquake at 2:01 a.m. near Leongatha, around 130 km south-east of Melbourne. The quake occurred at a depth of about 10 km, with tremors reported across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and other parts of Victoria. Geoscience Australia received thousands of reports from people who felt the shaking.
Residents reported feeling the earthquake in Narre Warren, Garfield, Preston, Heidelberg Heights and Venus Bay. One Narre Warren resident said the shaking woke him, while a resident in Garfield reported that the quake shook her house.
Victoria’s State Emergency Service reminded residents of the recommended response during an earthquake: drop to the ground, take cover beneath sturdy furniture, protect the head and neck, and hold on until the shaking stops. The Bureau of Meteorology said the earthquake posed no tsunami threat.
The earthquake struck in South Gippsland, one of Australia’s more seismically active regions. It was the largest earthquake recorded in Victoria since a magnitude 5.0 event along the Great Ocean Road in 2023.
Victoria also experienced a magnitude 5.9 earthquake near Mansfield in the state’s north-east in 2021. That event caused property damage and produced tremors detected around 700 km from its epicentre.
A magnitude 3.1 aftershock followed Saturday’s main earthquake about 55 minutes later near Leongatha. Another magnitude 3.3 earthquake had been recorded on Thursday morning at Yarram, roughly 80 km east of Leongatha.
Mark Quigley, associate professor of earthquake science at the University of Melbourne, said South Gippsland regularly records seismic activity and aftershocks from Saturday’s event were expected. Some aftershocks might continue to be felt for weeks.
The earthquake occurred when an area of rock around two by three kilometres in size slipped rapidly about 10 km below the surface. The rock moved approximately five to 10 cm, releasing the seismic energy felt across the region.
Quigley said the recent run of earthquakes did not mean earthquakes were becoming more frequent in Victoria. South Gippsland already has a history of seismic activity, making events in the region less unusual than they might appear from recent reports.
He said residents had no reason to panic after the magnitude 4.8 event, though the earthquake offered a reason to look around homes for objects that might fall, break or create a safety risk during stronger shaking.
The geological record shows that Gippsland has experienced substantially larger earthquakes in the past, according to Quigley. Events above magnitude 6 have occurred, with evidence suggesting earthquakes possibly reaching magnitude 7.
An earthquake of that size would produce far more serious damage across the region, he said. Saturday’s magnitude 4.8 earthquake was much smaller, though its shallow depth helped make the shaking noticeable across Melbourne and surrounding areas.
Geoscience Australia said a magnitude 3.1 aftershock had already been registered before 3 a.m. Hadi Ghasemi, a geophysicist with the agency, said larger aftershocks usually occur closer in time to the main earthquake, with their frequency declining afterwards.
The early-morning earthquake was strong enough to wake residents more than 100 km from its epicentre. For Victoria, it was the strongest recorded earthquake in about three years and another reminder of the continuing seismic activity beneath South Gippsland.
