Thousands rattled by 4.5-magnitude earthquake in central west NSW

Part of Australia’s east coast has been shaken by an earthquake that could be felt hundred of kilometres away.A 4.5-magnitude quake hit at 8.19pm on Tuesday at a depth of 5km about 30km south-west of Orange in central west NSW, near the Cadia goldmine.Geoscience Australia received more than 2,000 reports of tremors in the region, which a senior seismologist said were weak to light and felt as far as hundreds of kilometres south-east in Batemans Bay.Dr Phil Cummins said it was “a large earthquake for this area”.The last of a similar size was a 4.3 magnitude in 2017.Cummins expected aftershocks but they would likely be much lighter and felt in a smaller area.More details soon …