An earthquake that shook Western Australia’s goldfields overnight had the strength of an “atomic bomb” blasting underground.

Three earthquakes hit near Norseman, including a magnitude 5.2 tremor reportedly felt as far away as Perth.

The first was a 4.9 magnitude quake about 6km under the surface hitting about 11.30pm local time, then the 5.2 was about an hour later and the last was a 3.2 magnitude tremor about 1.44am on Sunday.

Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Dan Jaksa said it was the largest event in WA since the magnitude five earthquake in Kalgoorlie in April 2010, which left several buildings badly damaged.

He said the quakes were caused by tectonic stress due to Australia’s continental plate moving about seven centimetres a year and the one that hit shortly after midnight was the equivalent to an atomic bomb going off.

“When we see a nuclear test occur, they’re generally a magnitude five,” Jaksa said.

Geoscience Australia asks the public to fill out surveys on their website whenever they feel tremors.

Jaksa said so far about 100 surveys had been filled since midnight, including reports of the quakes being felt in Perth and Esperance, hundreds of kilometres away.

Brodie Woods, who works at Norseman BP, said he woke up to the first tremor on Saturday night, thinking someone was trying to break into his house.

“The window in my bedroom was rattling like crazy,” he said.

Woods said he ran outside to see who was trying to get in – joining most of his neighbours who thought the same thing until they realised it was a quake.

He then thought it was a nearby mine blasting, but then there was another.

Claye Poletti, the owner of the Bottlemart Express Norseman Hotel, said the 5.2 felt “pretty severe”.

“It kept on shaking, shaking and shaking,” Poletti said.

He said the 1934-built character pub didn’t sustain any damage but the quake rattled the two-storey landmark.

“It rocked the old building. It shook pretty well.”

Poletti said dogs could be heard barking madly, but Shadow, his Staffordshire terrier, wasn’t too worried.

“He’s pretty tough – he probably thought it was a heavy train like everyone else did.”

Jaksa said the quakes were significant but common in WA, particularly in the Wheatbelt region.

However, he considers Australian earthquakes “among the most dangerous in the world” because they happen randomly.

“We’re just not used to them, they’ll come out of the blue and in random places, so we’re just not as prepared,” he said.

Jaksa said it was important to stay inside and get under furniture.

“To run outside is the most dangerous thing to do – the majority of deaths occur outside the buildings,” he said.

The department of fire and emergency services said it had not received any notifications of building damage.

People from as far away as Kalgoorlie and Esperance – both about 200km away – had phoned Woods telling him they had also felt the earthquake.

It's been a tragic and difficult year for many in Nepal in the aftermath of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and the hundreds of aftershocks that followed. There was extensive damage across the country, with more than 8,000 people killed and close to 900,000 homes destroyed or damaged. MCC's response is ongoing, and will continue to be.

Bruce Guenther is the Disaster Response Director for Mennonite Central Committee Canada. He says much of the damage was in rural areas where MCC has ongoing programs, primarily regarding agriculture and nutrition.

"So in one district that originally the government didn't include as being severely affected, actually had about ninety per cent of the houses...destroyed."

Guenther offers some additional details on some of the other key projects MCC has been involved in over the past twelve months.

He goes on to say that while basic needs are still required in many areas of Nepal, MCC Canada is moving forward with a reconstruction plan that just needs the Nepalese government's stamp of approval.

"The government has put aside resources to help with reconstruction and so the key thing that we are working on right now for planning is conducting training with construction workers and masons so that when they do reconstruction...the housing will be earthquake-resistant."

Guenther adds while the hope was that these plans would have been approved quicker, MCC Canada is trying to work within the system in Nepal. He anticipates the approval will come down this spring/summer. 

With one year of relief efforts already under their belt, Guenther says the expectation is that MCC's work in Nepal will extend between three and four years. "It does take time, especially if we want to do things properly, and we want to coordinate well with the government to make sure that the people who really need assistance, get it."

Guenther is thankful for the generous support that MCC has received from both Canada and the United States, donations surpassing the $3 million mark. "The majority of that money has been set aside for these longer-term reconstruction activities." He is also thankful for the partnerships that have been formed on the ground in Nepal, creating the ability to provide more urgent assistance to people in need.