The tremor hit Woods Point, a small town about three hours east of Melbourne, just before 4am on Wednesday.
It was felt as far away as South Morang in Melbourne's north, Healesville in the Yarra Ranges, Wangaratta in the state's north and Dargo in east Gippsland, according to Victoria's State Emergency Service.
No buildings or infrastructure have been reported as damaged, the service said.
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake occurred near near Woods Point at 3:48am on Wednesday 7 Aug with 1408 felt reports and no reports of damages to buildings or infrastructure. If you require SES assistance please ring 132 500. For more information, visit: — VICSES News (@vicsesnews) https://t.co/BfEDYftW36 pic.twitter.com/2hVmkqtljuAugust 6, 2024
Vic Emergency still warned people to watch out for any minor damage and aftershocks.
"Stay safe by avoiding damaged buildings, roadways and bridges, and fallen trees and powerlines," an alert stated.
It was initially reported as a magnitude 4.0 earthquake but Geoscience Australia said it was a magnitude 4.1 quake as of 8am.
More than 1900 people reported the earthquake to the government agency, which recorded the epicentre as 8 kilometres underground.
This Advice is for an Earthquake in Woods Point and surrounds.— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) A 4.0 magnitude earthquake occurred at Woods Point at 3.48am Wednesday 7 August 2024, felt in Wangaratta, Benalla, South Morang, Healesville, Yarra Junction and Dargo.More details at https://t.co/X27kFi7NOu pic.twitter.com/gr4RSfv2IsAugust 6, 2024
The Bureau of Meteorology said there was no no tsunami threat to Australia.
It's the largest earthquake to strike the area since June 2023, according to the Seismology Research Centre.
A magnitude 5.0 quake also hit Colac in southwestern Victoria in October 2023.
The largest on record in Victoria was a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck in September 2021 which caused minor damage and was felt as far away as Canberra, Sydney and Adelaide.
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