'Like a truck hitting the house': 3.9-magnitude earthquake hits ...

Residents have described violent shaking and a sound like a train crashing as an earthquake rocked Goulburn early on Thursday morning.

Geoscience Australia’s detectors registered a 3.9-magnitude earthquake near Taralga, 45 kilometres north of Goulburn.

Residents in Goulburn and the surrounding towns reported feeling huge shakes and hearing strange noises as the earthquake shook the region about 6.45am.

A Crookwell resident who gave his name as Ian told Ben Fordham on 2GB he was in the shower when he felt his house begin to shake.

“To me, it was like a rumble like a big train ... the walls shook, the floor shook in the shower,” he said.

Another resident, Mark, also described the moment as sounding like a train with a “hum” in the ground.

Marion from Goulburn told Fordham her bed and her windows were shaking.

John, another resident, thought a truck had hit the front of his house.

“It was like the house actually gave a crack, there was a bit of a bang.”

In Crookwell Janine Campbell described hearing an “explosion” as her home shook for about four seconds.

“We have a solid double brick home and I thought there had been an explosion just outside the building,” she said.

Another resident also described hearing what she thought was a small explosion and a rumble.

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