NSW residents shaken by 4.6 magnitude earthquake felt as far as Sydney, Canberra

Thousands of people were shaken by a “terrifying” earthquake that rocked NSW, with reports of homes being rocked and water mains bursting.

Residents in parts of NSW have been rocked by a 4.6 magnitude earthquake on Wednesday morning.

The earthquake struck Fordwich - near Singleton along the Hunter River and about 200km north of Sydney - shortly before 3am on Wednesday, the latest records show.

The tremor reached a 4.6 on the Richter scale, and was recorded at a shallow 10m below ground, sending ripples across much of the Hunter Valley and parts of the state.

An earthquake has rocked parts of NSW on Wednesday morning. Picture: Earthquake GA

The quakes were so strong it could be felt from Warners Bay to pockets of Sydney, including Wentworth and Liverpool.

According to Geoscience Australia, some reported feeling shakes in northern NSW towards Kempsey, with residents as far south as Albury and Canberra also reporting the tremor.

More than 2500 people reported feeling the earthquake, a NSW SES spokesperson told NewsWire.

“NSW SES received several phone calls from concerned residents, with one property requiring sandbags due to a burst water pipe,” they said.

Seismologist Phil Cummins told Today the earthquake was “relatively big” for Australian standards, which could trigger damage to buildings and water mains.

“Normally, we regard magnitude five as the level at which damage substantial damage can occur,” Professor Cummins said.

“But … it’s possible that even for an earthquake of magnitude 4.6 … you might get some damage.

“It certainly would have shaken people over a very wide area.”

Over 2500 people reported feeling the earthquake, Picture: Geoscience GA

Residents were shocked by the late-night rumble, which caused some to think their “building was going to collapse”.

“It sent our smoke alarm off!” a resident wrote.

“I felt it too, my bed rocked left to right twice,” another added online.

The shakes were “terrifying” to residents in the Singleton area, who reported waking up to the “house shaking”.

“I thought something had crashed into my house,” a local wrote online.

“Blinds rattling vigorously.”

The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre confirmed there was no tsunami threat as a result of the earthquake.

A Geoscience spokesperson told NewsWire those who are experiencing an earthquake should “drop, cover and hold on to keep themselves safe” before reporting the tremor to the Geoscience website.