"We've had no reports and many people did not feel a thing," he said. This is not surprising as the tremor registered just 2.3 magnitude and was deep under the surface.

Chris Thompson of Geoscience Australia, a federal government agency, said the agency monitored the microblogging site Twitter for chatter about earthquake events but only a few had tweeted about the Pearcedale tremor. Some people reported homes rattling slightly

Since September 2008, there have been 22 significant earth tremors in southern Victoria.

In mid-September last year, a seismology research centre in Richmond recorded three tremors beneath Pearcedale, with the effect felt 25 kilometres away. The first tremor of 2.4 was followed by one of 2.7 four seconds later and a third of 3.1 about nine seconds after this.

A geological map shows 14 fault lines between the western side of Port Phillip Bay and western Gippsland, with 11 criss-crossing Mornington Peninsula and Western Port.