Were you shaken awake last night?

Western area residents and surrounding areas have taken to social media as Geoscience Australia has detected an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.2 at 2.36am followed by a 4.2 aftershock at 2.43am 60kms north of Nyngan and 100 km west of Coonamble.

In fact, there was a series of three quakes registered in the vicinity.

So far, Geoscience Australia has received 196 'felt reports' from people in the area.

.

Reported as one of the largest earthquakes in the region’s history, with people as far away as Dubbo and Narrabri, Wee Waa and Lightning Ridge, feeling the shake, residents have reported windows and floors moving, and in the Marra area one resident said items had flown off shelves.

Likened to a loud truck passing by one Nyngan resident said it sounded more like a bomb going off, while the “What’s on in Marra’ Facebook page reported being woken to the sound of crashing articles and the house shaking for four or five seconds with three aftershocks over the next five to ten minutes.

A Dubbo resident posted “Honestly thought something had hit my roof, even the dogs sensed it”, she wrote, with a Nyngan resident saying it felt like a train going through the house.

Geoscience Australia's 'felt grid' maps reports from people who say they experienced the shake.

While there have been no reports of damage to date, it certainly was a fright for many residents to wake up to.

Geoscience Australia reports that the exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.

Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.

To report your experience of the earthquake, click here.