A 5.6-magnitude earthquake has struck southern Western Australia early on Sunday, with more than 1500 residents rattled awake by the event.
The quake hit north-east of Gnowangerup, a small town between Katanning and Albany on the state’s south coast, about 5.34am with homes as far away as Perth feeling tremors.
The earthquake struck southern WA.Credit: Geoscience Australia
The biggest seismic event in WA in years, the quake was recorded at a depth of five kilometres by Geoscience Australia. It lasted about 30 seconds.
“We detected an 5.6-magnitude earthquake near Gnowangerup, Western Australia, about an hour ago,” they wrote.
“Around 1500 felt reports so far from all over southern WA, including Perth more than 300 kilometres away.”
The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed on their website that the disturbance posed no tsunami threat to Australia.
Many residents took to social media to report their experiences of the quake.
“Any one feel an earthquake at around 5.35am today? Relatively big for Perth,” Ben Hodsdon wrote on Facebook.