Property damage and panic was caused by the strong earthquake – 5.8 on the scale of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 6.0 on the scale of the Australian Institute of Geoscience (Geoscience Australia) – which struck on Wednesday morning Southeastern Australia, in the region of Melbourne. However, no injuries were reported.
I was driving at the time and missed it, but my security camera captured the Melbourne #earthquake Sound on! pic.twitter.com/0DJQY3KSyw
— Peter Wallhead 💉 (@peterwallhead) September 22, 2021
The epicenter of the earthquake was located near the rural town Mansfield, about 200 kilometers northeast of Melbourne; it had a particularly shallow focal depth of just 10 kilometers. It shook buildings in Melbourne, though no injuries have been reported so far, according to information from the authorities.
This video is absolutely captivating. For 30 seconds this morning, everyone in Victoria was one of the three main characters in this clip (me—I was Michael) #earthquake https://t.co/2Xuqzm191X
— Rohan Byrne (@buildmeaplanet) September 22, 2021
Photos showing panicked residents in the streets are circulating on social media, and videos have also been posted showing damage to some older buildings on Chapel Street in Prahran and on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy.
So far, damage has been reported to 46 buildings in the areas of Kensington, Ascot Vale, Parkdale, Prahran, Balwyn, Elsternwick, Northcote, and West Melbourne.
Experts say that Aftershocks will follow, they note that a 6.0 on the Richter scale is a very powerful earthquake, but they add that Melbourne's skyscrapers are designed to withstand such vibrations—or even stronger ones.
The earthquake was felt in Canberra, Sydney, and Tasmania, and power outages were reported in some areas.
It lasted 20 seconds and caused panic among many of our fellow citizens.
Many office workers in the city center took to the streets but later returned to their offices.
Major earthquakes are rare in southeastern Australia. A fairly densely populated region: nearly half the country's population—which totals 25 million—lives there.
Emergency services reported that they received calls from as far away as Dambo, 700 kilometers from the epicenter.
The earthquake was felt as far away as Adelaide, 900 kilometers to the north.
«Everything started shaking (…) »Everyone’s a little shaken up," said Parker Mayo, a 30-year-old café employee, while bricks were visible on the streets of the shopping district on Chapel Street.
The hardest plank to hold 😂
He missed breaking his record by 1 second!#Melbourne #earthquake #BREAKING pic.twitter.com/F7FpkeHS64
— Midlife Bants (#MLBs) (@midlifebanter) September 22, 2021
The mayor of Mansfield, Mark Holcomb, said he was at home and had sat down at his desk to work when the earthquake struck. It «took him a little while» to realize what was happening, as he admitted, before he went outside to get to safety. «I’ve experienced earthquakes abroad, and this one seemed to last longer than any I’d experienced before,’ Holcomb told ABC News. »Another thing that surprised me was how much noise it made. It was like a big truck was driving by.«.
No tsunami warning was issued.
The earthquake occurred as new ones are planned protests against the lockdown to prevent its spread pandemic of the new coronavirus in Melbourne, for the third consecutive day.
