A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck Western Australia’s Wheatbelt early Tuesday morning, sending tremors felt hundreds of kilometres away, though no damage has been reported so far.
The quake occurred shortly after 2am local time, about 30 kilometres southeast of Wyalkatchem and roughly 200 kilometres northeast of Perth. Geoscience Australia received over 500 “felt” reports, with the agency confirming it was the strongest earthquake recorded in the area in recent times.
Senior seismologist Trevor Allen said the tremor was widely felt across southwestern WA, including in Perth and as far as Kalgoorlie.
Given the timing of the quake, many residents may have experienced it without immediately realizing. Dr. Allen expects more reports as people become aware of what occurred.
A Goomalling resident, located about 60 kilometres west of the epicentre, described the quake as sounding like a truck engine starting at the far end of her building. “It felt like the sound traveled through the whole structure — I went outside thinking a truck was passing, but there was nothing there,” she said.
Alison Harris, the shire president of Cunderdin, noted that while earthquakes are relatively common in the region, they still cause anxiety, particularly for those who remember the devastating Meckering quake of 1968. “Tremors are part of life here, and they can be unsettling, especially for older residents,” she said.
Dr. Allen said the Wheatbelt has experienced significant seismic activity over the past year, with around 130 quakes detected since July. “There was a magnitude-4 event just days ago, and before today, the strongest in this current sequence was a 4.5,” he noted. “This latest one is the largest so far in the Wyalkatchem area.”
While the quake’s rural location helped reduce the risk of serious damage, people closer to the epicentre likely felt strong ground movement, whereas those in Perth might have experienced only a light swaying.
Dr. Allen encouraged anyone who felt the quake to report it to Geoscience Australia, as this information supports both scientific research and emergency response planning.
