Advertisement

Earthquake with 4.7 magnitude rocks Western Australia

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake has rocked Western Australia’s south.

The earthquake struck the town of Wagin, 230km southeast of Perth, shortly before 5.30am on Tuesday (local time), according to Geoscience Australia.

Aftershocks have been felt, including a 3.6 magnitude one near Arthur River and a 2.6 magnitude one near Darkan, 61kms away.

There have been 25 tremors in the Darkan-Wagin region since Saturday.

A map showing the earthquake and aftershocks. Source: Geoscience Australia
The earthquake struck the town of Wagin, 230km southeast of Perth, shortly before 5.30am on Tuesday. Source: Geoscience Australia

The quake was about eight kilometres deep, says Geoscience Australia, with 655 people from Perth, Dwellingup, Bunbury, Busselton, Augusta, Albany, Katanning and Bridgetown reporting they felt shaking.

In the last five years, there have been almost 1,200 earthquakes recorded within 200kms of Tuesday’s quake.

In 2018, Lake Muir in WA's southwest was hit by a 5.7 magnitude quake.

Earthquake ‘rumbled along’

Wagin is a wheatbelt town known for its giant ram "Bart" and annual Woolarama event.

Shire president Phillip Blight told AAP thankfully Bart and the century-old buildings in the town had escaped damage.

"I'm just having a look right now at the giant ram in Wagin to make sure he hasn't suffered any damage...he's great," Mr Blight said.

"(My wife and I) were having breakfast and it built fairly rapidly, it started and built fairly rapidly to a maximum intensity and it just rumbled along.

"It just wasn't probably quite strong enough that I could see a plate or a knife or a fork moving on the table sort of thing, it didn't do that. But yeah, just strong enough to certainly recognise what it was."

With AAP

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.