Shallow 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeast Australia

An earthquake at Shallow depth rocked south-eastern Australia on Wednesday morning, near the second largest city in the country Melbourne, where some people went out running in the street because of the shaking of buildings.

earthquake, unusual in the country, happened around 09h00 (23:00 GMT Tuesday) east of Melbourne and it was like hundreds of kilometers away.

According to the US Geological Survey, its magnitude was 5.8 in the Victoria area and its depth was 10 kilometers. In addition, it was followed by a 4.0 magnitude aftershock about 15 minutes later.

Telluric movement was felt in the states of Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia, according to the Australian public broadcaster ABC.

The epicenter was located at Mansfield, about 150 kilometers northeast of Melbourne. The meteorological office said there is no threat of a tsunami.

According to local media, thousands of people have said they are feeling the movement in five Australian states and territories.

Images of the restaurant were recorded on social media Betty’s Burgers in South Yarra surrounded by rubble and with extensive damage to one side of the building.

It is the largest earthquake on earth that Australia has recorded since 1997, according to data from GeoNet, the geological survey of neighboring New Zealand.

Additionally, local media reported that there have been several reports of damaged buildings, although no fatalities have been reported.

For his part, the Mayor of Mansfield, Mark Holcombe, dijo a Australian Broadcasting Corp. that he had no information that there was damage in the city.

“We were all working and everything started to shake”, said AFP Parker Mayo, 30-year-old cafe clerk. “It was quite violent, but we were all in shock,” he added.

Earthquakes of this magnitude are unusual in the city of south-eastern Australia, which contributed to the fear of the citizens.

Ross, a 60-year-old man residing on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria told the radio ABC from Melbourne which was the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced.

“We have just moved into a round earth house on a concrete slab and everything wobbled and rolled and the pool water churned back and forth … I couldn’t believe it “commented this resident of Australia, a country where earthquakes are not frequent.

“I was sitting at my desk at work and I had to run. It took me a long time to figure out what it was», He declared to the public channel ABC Mark Mansfield, the mayor of Mansfield, near the epicenter.

For his part, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is touring the United States, said the information given to him indicates that no “serious injury or the like” was recorded.

Emergency services have indicated that they have received calls for help from places 700 km from the epicenter.

(With information from AFP and EFE)

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