Melbourne Escapes Any Major Damage Following 3.8 Magnitude Earthquake

Geoscience Australia says little to no damage has been reported following the 3.8 magnitude earthquake to shake Melbourne on Sunday night.

The earthquake occurred around 11.41pm in Sunbury, about 40 kilometres north-west of the Melbourne CBD. Its epicentre was recorded at a depth of three kilometres.

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Residents said shaking lasted only a few seconds, with tremors felt as far north as Bendigo, and as south as Hobart, Tasmania.

By around 1am, over 20,000 Sunbury residents reported feeling the earthquake to Geoscience Australia.

Geoscience Australia seismologist Hugh Glanville told the ABC the tremor would have been widely felt but was unlikely to damage infrastructure.

He also warned Victorians aftershocks were likely over the next couple of days.

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“While it’s stronger shaking that travels a decent distance throughout the region, we don’t expect damage from an earthquake of that size,” he said.

“You don’t tend to get minor damage until around magnitude 4.5 where you’ll get things like plaster cracking and things rattling on shelves.

“We could expect aftershocks from an earthquake of this size, it’s not guaranteed of course, sometimes you just get a single earthquake and no aftershocks associated.”

It is the largest earthquake reported in metropolitan Melbourne in about 120 years.

The earthquake to hit Victoria in September 2021 was a 5.9 magnitude quake, but its epicentre was recorded between Mansfield and Rawson, about 130 kilometres north-east of the CBD.

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