Earthquakes hit Queensland town of Eidsvold, south-west of Bundaberg, causing tremors in state's south-east
The small town of Eidsvold in Queensland's North Burnett region has been hit by two earthquakes, with tremors felt hundreds of kilometres away.
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred near the town, south-west of Bundaberg, shortly before 2:00am (AEST).
A second earthquake measuring magnitude 2.9 hit the region about 45 minutes later.
Geoscience Australia (GA) estimated the earthquake could have been felt by people up to 206 kilometres away and could have caused damage up to 16 kilometres away.
Seismologist Hugh Glanville said the quake, whose epicentre was about 25 kilometres from Eidsvold, could have been devastating had it hit a more populated area.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) said they had not yet had any calls reporting damage but its Rapid Damage Assessment Team had been sent out to the epicentre region as a precaution.
In a statement, the Queensland Police Service said research suggested the central Queensland area from Bundaberg to Rockhampton was prone to earthquake activity.
Senior Sergeant Cameron Barwick, the Rockhampton disaster management support officer, has asked residents to be aware of these types of events by registering any information on the earthquake, or any damage or injuries sustained, with GA.
"If people have information regarding an earthquake, damage or injuries sustained they can record this history into this site after the event," he said.
Eidsvold publican Maryanne Blunt said she was woken up by the earthquake.
"The instinct is just to bolt; I ran out of the bedroom," she said.
"It was like some elves were at the four corners of the bed and shaking it.
"You could hear the window, the glass in the windows; it's a fairly old building.
"I suppose it was over quicker than it felt."
She said dogs around Eidsvold started barking and then the power went out.
"I sat up, I thought this might happen again; I better sit here a bit longer and not go back to sleep," she said.
"There's that sort of anxiousness of just thinking, oh, this could happen again in five minutes. And it might be different."
Quake felt from Darling Downs to Rockhampton
Callers to ABC Local Radio said they felt the first quake as far south as the Darling Downs and as far north as Rockhampton in central Queensland.
Dorothy, who lives at Mundubbera, just south of the epicentre, said it was a strong tremor.
"The whole house shook, it just felt like the washing machine was off balance," she said.
"It shook and woke us up. We've been through it once before in the late 1980s — at that time the bed moved across the room, but this time, well, it's not on wheels anymore, but it shook the whole house."
Deborah from Maleny in the Sunshine Coast hinterland also said the tremor woke her up.
"I just felt all this shaking, and the bed shook. I've got a dressing table with all my jewellery and necklaces on it, and that was all just going," she said.
"My little dog had charged into the room. It must have gone on for at least 20 seconds ... 20 to 30 seconds."
Peter from Mapleton, also in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, said he was reading a book in bed when he felt the tremor.
"I felt the bed shudder a bit and then it suddenly started to get worse," he said.
"And my wife woke up, and then the dogs started barking because the entire house was rattling quite obviously — you could hear things rattling on shelves."
Rex from Tewantin, near Noosa, said it was a strong tremor.
"The windows in the bedroom shook for at least 30 seconds," he said.
"My wife actually got up to grab the window to stop it. Nothing since then — I went back to sleep after that."
Aftershocks could continue for days
Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Johnathon Bathgate said aftershocks could continue for a few days.
"We can't predict the magnitude or duration of the aftershocks but generally they become smaller and less frequent over time," Mr Bathgate said.
He said another large earthquake in coming days could not be ruled out.
Social media has also been inundated with accounts of residents across south-east Queensland who were startled awake by the first earthquake.
"I was woken to a rustling sound of the doors rattling. The bed shaking & the room vibrating. Lasted a couple of minutes. Very weird sensation," one person wrote on the QFES Facebook page.
"Very gentle and only felt it because I was awake but enough that it made me sit up in bed and say, 'why did the bed just move?'," another wrote.
