A magnitude 4.4 earthquake has rattled northeastern Queensland’s coast, seismologists say.

Geoscience Australia said the quake struck at 9.31pm on Saturday near Townsville at a depth of about 10km.

“A lot of people felt this earthquake,” Geoscience Australia seismologist Phil Cummins said.

“It was relatively shallow.”

He said there were reports of the quake being felt 300km north of Townsville and 300km south of the city along the Queensland coast.

The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no risk of a tsunami to the Australian mainland or surrounding islands or territories from the earthquake.