People were awakened from their sleep by a scary 4.6-magnitude earthquake that shook Melbourne overnight. Although it shook structures, the greatest earthquake to hit the Australian metropolis in more than a century ultimately did nearly no damage. According to Geoscience Australia, the earthquake struck rural Victoria 127 kilometers to the east of the city.

According to preliminary data, the 3.8-magnitude earthquake impacted the Sunbury neighborhood in the northwest at 11:41 p.m. local time, at a depth of 2 kilometers (1.24 miles).

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According to Seismology Research Centre chief scientist Adam Pascale, the earthquake was the biggest within 40 kilometers of Melbourne since a magnitude 4.5 tremor struck in 1902.

One resident reportedly remarked, “Felt like a plane crashed next to my house or something,” according to CNN station 7News. Another Melbourne resident tweeted, referring to a downtown skyscraper, “I’m on the 70th floor in the Eureka Tower and the entire building swayed a couple of meters,” CNN affiliate Sky News Australia said.

Someone claimed to have “ran out of the house with a machete” while still in their pajamas. They said, “Our old house sounded like it was getting broken into,” as reported by Sky News Australia.

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Victoria experienced a record-breaking 5.8 magnitude earthquake in September 2021. One of the biggest earthquakes to hit Australia in decades, the shallow quake struck close to the little town of Mansfield, 110 miles northeast of Melbourne. According to Geoscience Australia, it was six miles deep.

The earthquake that rocked and tore down walls was heard as far away as Sydney and Tasmania, and locals described it as sounding like a jet engine. It was followed by two 4.0 and 3.1 magnitude aftershocks 18 and 39 minutes later, both within 10 kilometers of the original tremors.

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Stone debris crashed from buildings and covered the roads in a well-known shopping district near Melbourne’s Chapel Street. Bettys Burgers fast food business was surrounded by bricks and debris, and heavy metal sheets hung from the awning.

About 60 business owners in the well-known shopping district of Chapel Street have been impacted by the earthquake, mostly through power outages or structural issues.