A magnitude 2.1 earthquake has rocked a small town in Far North Queensland.
Residents of Tully, 750km north of Brisbane, were left shocked after the earthquake struck 8.7km from the city about 8.02pm on Tuesday.
One local resident said the sound was like “a big fire starting,” while others said the impact rattled dishes on the sink and shook the floor.
The earthquake was recorded in the Alcock Forest Reserve, on the outskirts of Tully, and had a very shallow depth of 10km.
At the 2016 census, the small town of Tully had a population of 2,390.
About a two-hour drive south of Cairns, Tully is known as one of the wettest towns in Australia, with an average rainfall of more than 4,000mm.
The city holds the record for the highest annual rainfall ever recorded in a populated part of Australia, with 7,900 mm of rain recorded in 1950.
The quake comes just hours after a magnitude 5.6 earthquake shook the Solomon Islands – the third recorded off the Australian coast in 24 hours.
The quake occurred at a depth of 35 km and the epicenter was located 79 km south of Panguna, Papua New Guinea.
More to come.