Darwin: Buildings shake as 5.9 magnitude earthquake strikes in Banda Sea off Timor coast

Residents in Darwin and some of Australia’s northernmost suburbs have been rocked overnight after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck offshore.

The quake hit in the Banda Sea off the eastern coast of Timor-Leste at about 9.28pm on Friday.

Seismologists initially logged the earthquake as a magnitude of 6.1 at a depth of 102km, before revising it to 5.9 at a depth of 73km.

The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed shortly after the earthquake that there was no tsunami threat to Australia.

Residents from Darwin’s CBD to rural Batchelor and Marrakai reported feeling tremors that lasted about five to six seconds, with many describing a sudden rumbling noise and shaking furniture.

Darwin resident Johanna Narelle said on social media her “couch felt like it came alive”.

In Jingili, a northern suburb of Darwin, residents reported their whole house shaking, while apartment dwellers on the 14th floor of a Darwin city high-rise felt the building sway.

Reports of shaking also came from Nightcliff, Rapid Creek, Parap, Lee Point and Darwin Hospital.

The earthquake followed a smaller 5.2 magnitude earthquake in the same area earlier on Friday.