An earthquake has hit Melbourne's outer east, rattling buildings and frightening residents.



The magnitude 2.7 earth tremor hit Melbourne's east with the epicentre believed to have been near Ferntree Gully.


A Kallista resident said she felt her house shake violently just before 4pm and that the tremor had left a crack in the ceiling of one room.


The woman, a native of Christchurch and no stranger to earthquakes, said: It sounded like a steam train coming through. It didn't go for long but at the end there was a loud bang, which made me jump.''


A Geoscience Australia spokeswoman confirmed a tremor had occurred in Melbourne’s east on Monday afternoon shortly before 4pm, but said the quake was still being analysed.


Metro Cinemas Boronia cinema manger Ellie Schouten told The Age their audiences thought it was all part of the film experience.


"Our audience watching Walking with Dinosaurs at Metro Cinemas Boronia thought it was part of the movie presentation," Ms Schouten said.


Renato told The Age the tremor was felt in Boronia.


"Felt it run under the floor and sounded like a freight train in boronia," Renato said.


Malak Olliak said it felt "like a bomb exploded and the ground shook one or two seconds!".


Jaye Fletcher described the tremor as "frightening" and said their house was rumbling in Croydon North.


"I actually ran out of our 2 storey house as the rumbling sound was rapidly gaining in intensity and I was almost certain that there was going to be an explosion from an electrical fault.


"As I reached the door the rumbling decreased and then …cruuuunch sounds from overhead. Very frightening, and if that is only a 2.7 tremor, I don’t believe I could ever live in California or Christchurch!"


Emma Newton said their building in Croydon shook and "we thought something has blown up or someone had driven into our building," she aid.


"It was huge and felt much bigger than the reported 2.7...scary stuff."


More to come