Magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes near Melbourne, tremors rattle southeast Australia

 

powerful earthquake struck southeast Australia on Wednesday, damaging buildings and prompting people to spill onto the streets of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state. 

Government agency Geoscience Australia said the quake, initially measured at magnitude 6.0 but later revised to 5.8, was detected about 9:15 a.m. local time and was just over 6 miles deep. Smaller aftershocks followed. 

Earthquakes are rare in Australia, especially of that magnitude. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, speaking from the United States, where he met with President Biden to discuss a new security pact and submarine deal, said that the earthquake was “very disturbing” and that the federal government stood ready to support Victorians in their response. “But at this stage we have had no reports of serious injuries or worse, Victoria state Deputy Premier James Merlino cited some damage reports, including a hospital that lost power. Media showed images of fallen bricks from a building in Melbourne’s inner suburb of South Yarra.

Seismology Research Centre Chief Scientist Adam Pascale said it was the largest onshore quake in Victoria’s recorded history

The quake hit about 130 kilometers (80 miles) northeast of Australia’s second-most populous city near the town of Mansfield at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), Geoscience Australia said.