Sydney: An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 jolted 38 km south of Mount Buller in Australia’s state of Victoria Tuesday night, the US Geological Survey said. Geoscience Australia reported the earthquake occurred at 9:15 am Wednesday and was 10-kilometers deep.
The epicentre, around Mansfield in Victoria’s north-east, is about 130 km away from Australia’s second largest city of Melbourne, Xinhua news agency reported. 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.