Earthquake wakes Melbourne's southeast

A minor earthquake woke residents in Melbourne's southeast this morning.

Geosceience Australia says the 3.2 magnitude earthquake occurred near Leongatha around 5.45am.

The quake was reportedly felt as far away as Brighton - 125 kilometres away.

Emergency services have not received any reports of damage or injury.

A woman named Caroline, who lives in Koonwarra, spoke with 3AW and said the shake woke her up. 

"I was asleep and I just got woken up really suddenly. We've got gum trees around the house and I thought a branch had fallen on the roof but it turns out it was just an earth tremor," she said.

Senior seismologist Jonathan Bathgate told The Age many people mistook the earthquake for backfiring vehicle.

"The reports in general were that it was a short, sharp jolt and an associate booming sound to go along with that," he said.

"People said they mistook it for a truck going down the road or ... a train going past and that's quite common for an earthquake of this size."

Mr Bathgate said the quake only lasted for several seconds but was "certainly strong enough to wake up quite a few people in the area".