A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck the Banda Sea north of Darwin on Friday evening, sending tremors through the Australian city and its northern suburbs. Residents reported feeling their homes shake at around 9.30pm, with some describing sustained rocking while others called the sensation gentle but unusual, highlighting how rare such events are for the region.

The quake was initially measured as magnitude 6.1 at a depth of 102km before being revised down to 5.9 at a depth of 73km. It came just hours after a separate magnitude 5.2 earthquake was recorded east of Timor earlier the same day. The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed there was no tsunami threat to Australia as a result of the tremors.