Australia: 4.5-magnitude earthquake hits near Sydney

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake struck northwest of Sydney on Saturday morning, causing power outages for thousands of people.

The Seismology Research Centre recorded the earthquake near the town of Muswellbrook, approximately 170 km northwest of Sydney in the Upper Hunter region of the state of New South Wales (NSW), at 5:58 a.m. local time, reports Xinhua news agency.

Geoscience Australia said the earthquake occurred at a depth of five km and that people reported feeling it in Sydney.

According to Nine Entertainment newspapers, 2,748 properties in and around Muswellbrook were suffering from power outages following the tremor.

NSW Police said they were not aware of any injuries or damage to infrastructures in the tremor-hit area, which is one of Australia's largest coal-mining regions.