Geoscience Australia confirmed the quake which saw its epicenter near the rural town of Mansfield, about 124 miles northeast of Melbourne
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck near Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday, causing rubble to fall from buildings and power cuts.
Geoscience Australia confirmed the earthquake that struck near Mansfield in the northeastern part of Melbourne.
The earthquake was six miles deep and no tsunami threat has been declared for Australia’s mainland.
A picture of rubble along a Melbourne street was posted by a local radio station. It claimed that the earthquake caused it.
Others claimed they were evacuated from their buildings after the tremor, while people in the northern part of the city stated that they lost power.
The quake was felt as far away as the city of Adelaide, 500 miles to the west in the state of South Australia, and Sydney, 600 miles to the north in New South Wales state.
No reports have been made of any damage to Melbourne or injuries.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Washington: “We have had no reports of serious injuries, or worse, and that is very good news and we hope that good news will continue.
“It can be a very disturbing event, an earthquake of this nature. These are rare events in Australia, so I’m sure that people would have been very upset and disturbed.”
The mayor of Mansfield, Mark Holcombe, said he was in his home office on his farm when the quake struck and ran outside for safety.
“I have been in earthquakes overseas before and it seemed to go on longer than I have experienced before,” he told the ABC.
“The other thing that surprised me was how noisy it was. It was a real rumbling like a big truck going past.”
Although he said that he did not know of any serious damage to the epicenter of the earthquake, some residents experienced problems with their telecommunications.
No tsunami threat has been issued to the Australian mainland, islands, or territories, the country’s Bureau of Meteorology said in a statement.
The earthquake could disrupt anti-lockdown demonstrations that were expected to take place in Melbourne on Wednesday. It would be the third day with increasing violence and police response.