Thousands rattled by earthquake in central-west NSW

Part of Australia’s east coast was shaken by an earthquake that could be felt hundreds of kilometers away.

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck at 8.19pm (AEST) on Tuesday at a depth of 5km, approximately 30km southwest of Orange in central-western NSW.

Geoscience Australia received more than 2000 reports of tremors in the region, which a senior seismologist said were weak to light and were felt hundreds of kilometers south-east of Batemans Bay.

Dr Phil Cummins said only five earthquakes have been recorded within 50 kilometers of the earthquake zone since 1977, with the previous one having a magnitude of 4.3 in 2017.

“This is a big earthquake for the region,” he said.

Dr Cummins expected aftershocks, but they are likely to be much milder and felt over a smaller area.