Magnitude 5.9 earthquake shakes Darwin: ‘The whole house shook’

Tremors have shaken Darwin after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake was detected in the Banda Sea, north of the city. 

Locals in the city and its northern suburbs reported shaking about 9.30pm on Friday. 

‘Whole house shook here in Jingili,’ one local said.

‘Just felt it in Palmerston. Rocked for quite a bit,’ another social media user said.  

A third person added: ‘It was a gentle shaking but very unusual.’

The tremor was originally recorded as a 6.1 magnitude earthquake at a depth of 102km in the Banda Sea, but this was then lowered to 5.9 at a depth of 73km. 

It followed a magnitude 5.2 earthquake east of Timor early Friday morning.

The Bureau of Meteorology said there is no tsunami threat to Australia.