A magnitude 4.5 earthquake sent tremors across Malta at 1.40pm on Tuesday.

The quake's epicentre was in the sea north of Malta.

The University of Malta's Seismic Research Monitoring Group told Times of Malta that the earthquake was traced to around 15km north of Marsalforn, Gozo.

It calculated the event as having measured 4.5 on the Richter scale.

People reported seeing heavy furniture moving, glasses shaking and gypsum walls shuddering.

A resident in Nadur reported seeing her entire block of apartments move. 

Multiple reports estimated the tremors as lasting anything between three and eight seconds. 

Staff at Malta Enterprise's offices in Guardamangia were evacuated as a precautionary measure.  

The red dot marks the earthquake's epicentre.

Malta lies around 200km south of a tectonic fault line but is considered to be a low-risk area for seismic activity. 

Most tremors reported locally tend to be below 4 on the Richter scale, making Tuesday's tremor a relatively significant one by local standards. 

A similarly-sized quake, measuring 4.5, was reported in 2020, though it was mostly felt offshore. 

The last similar quake before that dates back 50 years: at 11.06pm on March 21, 1972, an earthquake measuring 4.5 occurred in the Sicilian channel, shaking Malta and many locals in their beds.

"Deafening noise shook house from top to bottom"

Tom Welch was working on his laptop in his house in Żebbuġ, Gozo when the earthquake struck.

Welch said the first tremors hit at around 1:40pm and escalated to heavy rumbles that shook his house for around seven or eight seconds.

"At first, we heard a succession of some low, heavy rumbles gradually increasing in volume. Like a heavy truck, revving up," he explained.

"After a few seconds, the noise became deafening and the whole house shook from top to bottom, including every piece of furniture. That was the worst part. The whole three-story townhouse shuddered and shook for around seven or eight seconds."

Gozo's Żebbuġ was the closest point on land to the epicentre of the earthquake.

Welch said that following the tremors, he stepped outside his house to check for any damage, and found a street full of "stunned neighbours" who had also run out of their houses.

"When we lived in Malta some years ago, I remember a tremor but nothing like this. It felt like the real deal here," he said.

"It felt like we were right on top of it."

Were you impacted by the quake? Share your experience with us at newsroom@timesofmalta.com