Melbourne hit with 3.8 magnitude earthquake

Quake hits on Sunday night in Melbourne with tremors felt as south as Hobart.

The city of Melbourne, Victoria, in Southern Australia, was hit with a small earthquake this Sunday night, May 28, measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale.

Chief scientist at the Seismology Research Centre Adam Pascale, said it was the highest magnitude earthquake in metropolitan Melbourne since 1902.

He said: “We can start to see damage at this sort of level of earthquake and above. This earthquake is about 100 times smaller than the one two years ago in September 2021, but it was a lot closer to Melbourne. So it was felt in a similar intensity but for a shorter duration.”

The State Emergency Services in Victoria only received 3 calls for assistance following the quake and said they were lucky that there was no damage or consequences as a result of the quake.

Small earthquakes are fairly common in Victoria. Over the past 10 years, 29 have been recorded, an average of almost 3 per year. In 2021, the Australian state experienced a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that caused minor structural damage in Melbourne despite hitting nearly 200 kilometres away.

The Bureau of Meteorology said there was no tsunami threat to the Australian mainland, islands or territories as a result of the quake.