Karmactive Team
More than 1,500 Victorians from South Gippsland to Melbourne reported being jolted awake just before midnight on Tuesday after a shallow magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck near Arawata and Leongatha, about 100 kilometres southeast of Melbourne.
Geoscience Australia recorded the earthquake at 11:52:52 PM AEDT on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. The earthquake’s epicentre was 8 kilometres northwest of Leongatha in South Gippsland, at a shallow depth of just 3 kilometres. Within the first hour, more than 1,200 felt reports were logged with Geoscience Australia, rising past 1,500 by morning. No injuries or structural damage have been reported. The event occurred at the south-eastern edge of the Leongatha earthquake cluster that has been active since early October 2026.
Geoscience Australia data shows Tuesday night’s magnitude 3.5 tremor near Arawata is part of the ongoing aftershock activity following the magnitude 4.8 Kardella earthquake on October 3—which generated more than 21,000 felt reports at the time and was covered in our October 3 Kardella earthquake report. Because the earthquake struck at a shallow depth of 3 kilometres, seismic energy reached the surface with minimal absorption, creating a sharp jolt and a loud acoustic report across South Gippsland despite its moderate size. Smaller shallow aftershocks may continue over coming weeks, consistent with standard post-seismic decay patterns. For background on the region’s fault history, see Victoria’s seismic fault lines explainer.
*Why did a magnitude 3.5 earthquake feel so loud in Leongatha and Arawata?* Because the tremor ruptured just 3 kilometres underground, seismic energy reached the surface with minimal attenuation, creating a sharp jolt and loud acoustic report across South Gippsland despite its moderate 3.5 magnitude.
Residents who felt Tuesday night’s tremor can log their experience directly on the Geoscience Australia Earthquakes portal at earthquakes.ga.gov.au.
