Earthquake shakes Malta in early hours of Wednesday

A 4.7-magnitude earthquake was felt across parts of Malta early on Wednesday morning after it struck off the southern coast of Italy.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake occurred at 3:26 am with its epicentre located 37 km south-southeast of Palizzi Marina in Reggio Calabria.

The tremor was recorded at a depth of 48.5 kilometres.

Although no damage was reported, several residents in areas across Malta said they were woken up by the shaking. Others reported sleeping through the event, unaware of the tremor until seeing reports online.

Earthquakes of this magnitude are not uncommon in the region, which lies near the boundary of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates.