Victoria hit by another earthquake

Victoria was struck by another earthquake, shaking the region and causing concern among residents. The tremor adds to the series of seismic activities recently experienced, prompting authorities to assess potential damage and safety measures. Residents are urged to stay alert for aftershocks and follow safety protocols to ensure their well-being.

Victoria was shaken by a 4.1 magnitude earthquake that hit the High Country early Wednesday morning.

Geoscience Australia logged over 2100 "felt reports" for the tremor near Woods Point at 3.48 am, with a depth of 10 kilometers. VicEmergency issued a warning shortly before 5 am, cautioning about potential minor damage.

“This earthquake has been felt in Wangaratta, Benalla, South Morang, Healesville, Yarra Junction, and Dargo,” the alert stated. Mansfield farmer Indi Wheeler, half-asleep, felt her bed frame shake. “The farmhouse started to rumble, and I could feel this weird wave pass over me from the top of my bed down to the bottom,” she said. “It’s my first earthquake, so it was definitely a strange feeling.”

The low-level warning, removed before 10.30 am, covered much of eastern Victoria, from Melbourne's eastern suburbs to Falls Creek, Shepparton, and Wangaratta, extending to the Latrobe Valley in the south.

Despite the caution from Victoria’s State Emergency Service, the message indicated: “The earthquake has resulted in little to no reported damage.” The Bureau of Meteorology also stated on social media: “No tsunami threat to Australia from earthquake felt in Woods Point, VIC.”

The Seismology Research Centre noted on X that Wednesday’s earthquake was the largest in Victoria’s alpine region since a magnitude 4.7 tremor in June 2023. A magnitude 4.1 earthquake was felt by residents in the Victorian High Country.

Adam Pascale from the Seismology Research Centre mentioned that the quake was weakly felt across Melbourne, lasting about one to two seconds. “People in Mansfield and Woods Point would have felt it strongly, but I had several colleagues in Melbourne who were woken by the shake,” he said. Pascale noted that Wednesday’s tremor was the third-largest since the major magnitude 5.9 quake in September 2021.

“We’ve had over 1600 aftershocks since 2021, and I suspect we will continue to have more over the years,” he said. Seismic activity has increased in Victoria since the 5.9 magnitude quake in September 2021, which damaged buildings in Melbourne and was felt across southeastern Australia.

Aftershocks included a 3.8 magnitude quake near Sunbury in May last year, the largest recorded in metropolitan Melbourne for 120 years. In June last year, over 10,000 people reported feeling a magnitude 4.6 quake near Mt Baw Baw. Experts have previously informed The Age that these tremors are part of normal seismic activity following the September 2021 earthquake.

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