Sydney (Australia):
A powerful earthquake has struck Melbourne, the second largest city in Australia. It has been reported that due to this many buildings have suffered heavy damage. Tremors were felt across Australia.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 jolted 38 km south of Mount Buller in the Australia’s state of Victoria at 23:15:53 GMT on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Geoscience Australia reported that the earthquake occurred at 9:15 am Wednesday and was 10-kilometers deep. The epicentre, around Mansfield in Victoria’s northeast, is about 130 km away from Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne. The Seismology Center reported that preliminary readings showed the quake lasted around 20 seconds.
No casualties were reported yet, but residents across metropolitan Melbourne and rural Victoria reported violent shaking. Building damage has been reported across Melbourne, and apartment buildings are being evacuated in inner Melbourne.
Victoria State Emergency Service tweeted, “If you have building damage or require SES assistance, phone 132500 and please be patient as lines may be busy.”
Local media said there are reports emerging of significant damage in some parts of Victoria.
The earthquake was so strong that its tremors were felt hundreds of kilometers away. According to media reports, the depth of the epicenter of this earthquake was 10 km below ground level. Due to the sudden earthquake, panic spread among the local people and they came out of their homes.
Scattered debris
Debris spread all over Melbourne’s Chapel Street after a powerful earthquake. This is a popular shopping area. Bricks and stones started falling from the buildings on to the roads.
Fewer earthquakes occur in Melbourne
The southeastern part of Australia is not known for earthquakes. Earthquakes are very rare in this area. Parker Mayo, who works at a cafe in Melbourne, said, “It was very scary. We are all shocked by the earthquake.”
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