Earthquakes rattle Melbourne and Adelaide hours apart

Hundreds of residents reported feeling the ground move as two separate earthquakes struck Victoria and South Australia just hours apart overnight.

Two Australian cities were rattled overnight as separate earthquakes struck within hours of each other, prompting hundreds of residents to report the tremors.

Melbourne was the first to feel the earth move, with a magnitude 2.8 quake striking just after 12.30am on Tuesday.

The epicentre was located near Mount Dandenong, in the Olinda area, at a depth of 5km.

According to Geoscience Australia, more than 620 people reported feeling the tremor, with reports stretching from Jam Jerrup in the south to Craigieburn in the north.

Less than two hours later, Adelaide was rocked by a magnitude 2.7 quake about 2am.

The tremor was centred near Nairne, east of the city, at a depth of 9km.

Nearly 200 residents contacted Geoscience Australia to report the event, mostly from in and around the Adelaide region.

Seismology Research Centre chief scientist Adam Pascale told FIVEAA radio that small earthquakes had been common in the Adelaide Hills region in recent years.

“(I’m) surprised it has been felt, it is pretty small, but it’s something that’s seemingly occurring almost every year around this time of year,” he said.

Melbourne and Adelaide have been shaken as separate earthquakes struck within hours. Picture: Geoscience Australia

Mr Pascale said while a pattern of earthquakes had emerged around March to May over the past few years, the timing wasn’t due to seasonal factors but rather the gradual build-up of stress beneath the surface.

He noted that the more significant tremors began in 2022 with a magnitude of 3.7, followed by a 3.1 later that month. In 2023, the region recorded a 2.7, with smaller quakes occurring sporadically since then. He added that the latest tremor was one of the larger ones in recent times.

Mr Pascale also said a more powerful quake could be looming.

“There’s been a magnitude six in South Australia in recent history … it’s quite likely that there will be another large event sometime,” he said.

“Unfortunately, I can’t predict these things, but we know that we will see an event of magnitude five or six, probably in the next 50 or 100 years.”

Both cities sit on the Australian tectonic plate, which shifts about 7cm each year. While Australia is not known for frequent large earthquakes, minor tremors are not uncommon.

“Earthquakes in Australia are caused by the slow build-up of stress in the interior of the continent,” Geoscience Australia explained.

“The stress that builds in these tectonic plates during this movement is released as an earthquake.”

On March 1, 1954, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake injured three people and damaged 3000 buildings, triggering more than 30,000 insurance claims for structural damage.

Australia’s largest recorded earthquake occurred in 1988 near Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, with a magnitude estimated at 6.6.

No damage or injuries have been reported from Monday night’s quakes.

Originally published as Earthquakes rattle Melbourne and Adelaide hours apart