Geoscience Australia duty seismologist Steve Tatham said the earthquake happened in the middle of the national park in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“An earthquake of that size definitely shows up on our instruments and it would have been felt if there were people in the area at the time, especially if they were a light sleeper,” he said.

“However, most nearby populations would have been too far away to feel it – Horsham is about 140 kilometres away.”

Mr Tatham said there was a known fault line in the area that caused the quake.

“There is a large fault line that runs from north to south called the Hindmarsh fault line,” he said.

“However, this is only the second earthquake in that area in 50 years.

“The last one was in 1987 and it was a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.”

Mr Tatham said it was unusual for earthquakes to happen in the Wimmera.

“It is one of the quieter areas of Victoria,” he said.

“There has been earthquakes near towns like Nhill and then further east towards Bendigo, but most of the activity in the state happens around Gippsland and the Great Dividing Range.

“The Big Desert National Park, and the Wimmera in general, is usually fairly quiet by Victorian standards.” Mr Tatham said the earthquake was nothing for people to be worried about, and it didn’t cause any damage.

“Earthquakes are difficult to predict,” he said. 

“Whether we will have to wait another 30 years to see another earthquake in the region, I’m not sure.”