People in Melbourne are being warned this morning of the risk of aftershocks after the city was struck by its strongest earthquake in 120 years overnight.
On Sunday night, Melbourne was rocked by a rare and shallow 3.8-magnitude earthquake – the largest to hit the Australian city in over 120 years. The epicentre of the quake was located in Sunbury, about 35 kilometres northwest of Melbourne’s CBD, at 11.41pm local time.
The tremors lasted for around 10-20 seconds and were felt across much of Melbourne’s northern suburbs, rattling homes and waking up residents. Reports on social media suggest that some people experienced shaking strong enough to cause items to fall off shelves or move furniture around.
Fortunately, no major damages or injuries have been reported as a result of the earthquake. However, experts are warning that aftershocks could still occur in the coming days and weeks. Geoscience Australia seismologist Jonathan Bathgate said that while it is difficult to predict when aftershocks may happen, they are likely to be smaller than Sunday night’s quake.
“It is not uncommon for an earthquake this size to be followed by several aftershocks,” he said. “We would expect these aftershocks to decrease in magnitude over time.”
Residents and visitors should take preventative measures such as securing heavy furniture and objects that could potentially fall during an aftershock, as well as being aware of their surroundings at all times in case of any unexpected shaking or tremors.
Sunday night’s earthquake serves as a reminder that Victoria is prone to seismic activity due to its location near two tectonic plates – the Australian Plate and Pacific Plate – which rub together along fault lines beneath the state’s surface. Earthquakes can occur anywhere in Victoria but are more frequent in areas close to fault lines such as Gippsland and South West Victoria.
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