Earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale rocks Melbourne

An earthquake has struck in the heart of Melbourne with residents reporting shaking just before midnight.

The earthquake on Sunday about 11:47pm struck with an estimated magnitude of 4.5 on the Richter scale around Sunbury 40km north west of the city.

Residents flooded to social media to share their experience of the tremor. 

Journalist and writer Sasha Petrova said: ‘My house just shook so violently I thought several bombs had exploded.’

Ms Petrova said it did not feel like the ‘trembling of a quake’ but rather ‘just two one second violent shakes close together, with some books falling off the shelf’.

‘Earthquake in Melbourne felt like a massive explosion,’ wrote another Twitter user. 

Another said his phone received an earthquake alert and his ‘house was shaking here in Yarraville’. 

More to come.