Darwin rattled by ocean earthquake

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake in the Banda Sea has rattled homes in Darwin this morning.

The relatively small earthquake struck at 9.05am, with an epicentre 625km north of Darwin and 200km deep - just the right location to send a seismic shock wave through the NT capital.

"These are the ones that Darwin feels. It's in the zone. It's the perfect depth," Geoscience Australia senior duty seismologist Dan Jacksa said.

Residents may have heard a loud bang as the first seismic shock wave hit the city, followed by vibrations afterwards.

Mr Jacksa said earthquakes of a magnitude 5 were fairly common in the Banda Sea. The biggest on record was an 8.5 in 1938, which generated a 1.5m tsunami.

Today's earthquake was too small and too deep to generate a tsunami.

Did you feel the earthquake? Leave a comment below.