Aftershocks felt after 5.0 magnitude earthquakes left thousands without power

Residents on Australia’s east coast have been shaken by powerful tremors after a magnitude 5.0 earthquake left thousands without power.

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 8 kilometres north of Denman in the Hunter region of New South Wales shortly after 6.30am on Saturday at a depth of 9.6 kilometres.

This came just hours after a 3.2 magnitude earthquake struck the nearby town of Muswellbrook at 1.10am and another 2.5 magnitude earthquake was felt at 2.30am.

Experts warned of aftershocks following Friday’s largest quake, with Australians living more than 170 kilometres away in Sydney reporting tremors.

“Anybody else feel another tremor?” a woman posted on a Facebook page for residents of Sydney’s eastern suburbs at 4.45pm on Saturday.

Just over 24 hours earlier, mining operations were briefly halted after the earthquake struck the Mount Arthur coal mine outside Muswellbrook at 12.01pm on Friday.

A BHP spokesman said several miners were injured during the tremors.

“Some members of the team at Mt Arthur Coal required first aid for minor injuries caused by falling objects, fortunately no one was seriously injured,” he said.

Lavis Mitre 10 in Muswellbrook posted a photo of items strewn across its hallways after a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck the town of Denman shortly after 12pm on Friday.

“All areas of the site are undergoing inspections prior to safely resuming operations. We have offered our support to Muswellbrook Shire Council.”

A power cut affected an area in South Musswellbrook as a result of the earthquake and damage was reported to a building in the city’s central business district.

Several business owners were forced to close their businesses for the day after debris began falling from their roofs amid the largest earthquake to hit the area in 50 years.

At 2 p.m. on Friday, the largest earthquake had a magnitude of 2.9.

More to come.