Residents reported hearing a low rumble and feeling slight shuddering from Harcourt to Kangaroo Flat at 3am.

Geoscience Australia duty seismologist Eddie Leask said it was a minor event, and there was unlikely to be any damage.

“They might have heard a bang noise, kind of like thunder, or a low rumble like a train going past as the seismic waves travel past them,” he said.

“If people were awake, they would have heard windows rattle.”

The area has been prone to earthquakes in the past. An earthquake measuring 4.0 hit the area in 1969, and another measuring 3.5 was experienced in 1991.

The sudden shudder came as a surprise to residents in the area, including Ravenswood resident Roman Sobina.

He said it was a clear night, so there was no chance it was thunder.

“It was like a sonic boom,” Mr Sobina said.

“The house shook, the windows rattled, it woke everybody up in the house. Even the neighbours woke up as well.

“The neighbour’s horses were running like crazy around the paddock. You could hear the corellas and gallahs, they were sort of flying around the night sky in a panic.”