A powerful earthquake struck Western Australia’s central Wheatbelt last night.
The 3.7 magnitude quake struck at 6.40pm on Thursday near Wyalkatchem, a rural town about 192km east of Perth, at a depth of 6km.
The tremors continued into the early hours of Friday morning. At 2:25 a.m. a 2.2 magnitude quake was recorded and at 3:50 a.m. a 2.9 magnitude quake.
The earthquakes were felt at depths of 3 and 7 km respectively.
Earthquakes were felt in towns close to the epicenters of the earthquakes, such as South Yelbeni, North Baandee, Kununoppin and Korrelocking.
GeoScience Australia has received only two palpable reports of the initial quake. There has been no damage to buildings or infrastructure.
According to the 2021 census, Wyalkatchem had a population of only 358.
The quake occurred just over a week after a 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck at 3.48am on August 7 near Woods Point, about 180km northeast of Melbourne.
The 3.7 magnitude quake struck southeast of Wyalkatchem, about 192km east of Perth, at about 5.40pm on Thursday, at a depth of 6km
Tremors were felt in towns close to the epicenters of the earthquakes, such as South Yelbeni, North Baandee, Kununoppin and Korrelocking
GeoScience Australia recorded more than 1,500 ‘felt reports’, but there were no reports of damage to buildings or infrastructure.
Some Victorian residents claimed the earthquake had ‘woken them up’, while others in the area reported feeling the shock too.
“My windows were shaking in Heathmont,” one person wrote on social media.
“It felt like Lakes Entrance,” a second commented.
“Yep! Felt like it was dangerous… just a slight vibration for about 15 seconds,” said a third person, to which another replied: “Wow, that far away?!.”
According to the Seismology Research Centre, the quake was the strongest in the area since June last year, with a magnitude 4.7 quake recorded in Victoria’s Alpine region.
An earthquake was also recorded in the region in September 2021, after a magnitude 5.9 quake was recorded.
