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Magnitude 3 earthquake wakes Tasmanian residents

A magnitude 3 earthquake occurred 10km south of Deloraine in northern Tasmania at 12:40am this morning, waking locals from their sleep.

"While people would have felt this minor Earth movement up to 20km away from the epicentre, earthquakes of this magnitude are unlikely to cause structural damage", said Duty Seismologist Dr Mark Leonard.

Geoscience Australia has received reports from members of the public, who heard a "bang" at the time of the quake.

"Tasmania experiences earthquakes of this magnitude every few years. The largest earthquake in Tasmania in the last 20 years was a magnitude 4.3 event that occurred near Lake Sorell in 2002."

For a list of the most recent earthquakes and felt reports, visit the Geoscience Australia recent earthquakes page.