Magnitude 4.8 earthquake shakes Melbourne region, felt across eastern suburbs

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck Victoria in the early hours of Saturday morning, shaking Melbourne and waking people across the whole region.

Geoscience Australia said it detected an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 at 2.01am near Leongatha, 130km south-east of Melbourne, with the tremors felt across the city’s eastern suburbs.

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.

The quake was estimated to have struck at about 10km below the Earth’s surface.

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.