The Australian city of Melbourne has been struck by a 6.0-magnitude earthquake, Geoscience Australia has said.
The quake, which was one of the country’s biggest on record, caused some damage to buildings as it hit the country’s second-most populous city on Wednesday.
No serious injuries have been reported so far, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
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A police officer closes an intersection where debris is scattered in the road
The epicentre was near the rural town of Mansfield in Victoria, about 124 miles (200km) northeast of Melbourne with tremors also felt in neighbouring Australian states.
Images and footage showed rubble blocking one of Melbourne’s main streets and damage to some buildings in the city.
People in northern parts of the city said on social media they had lost power while others said they were evacuated from buildings.
“We have had no reports of serious injuries, or worse, and that is very good news and we hope that good news will continue,” said Mr Morrison.
“It can be a very disturbing event, an earthquake of this nature. They are very rare events in Australia and as a result, I am sure people would have been quite distressed and disturbed.”
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The quake caused some damage to buildings in Melbourne
The quake sent tremors throughout neighbouring states and was felt as far away as the city of Adelaide, which sits 500 miles (800km) to the west and Sydney, which is 600 miles (900km) to the north.
There were no reports of damage or injuries outside Melbourne.
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Emergency services respond to calls from an area that sustained damage in the Windsor suburb of Melbourne
Quakes are a relatively unusual occurrence in Australia’s populated east due to its position in the middle of the Indo-Australian Tectonic Plate, according to Geoscience Australia.
Wednesday’s tremor measured higher than the country’s deadliest tremor, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake in Newcastle, New South Wales, in 1989, which caused 13 deaths.
No tsunami threat was issued for the Australian mainland, islands or territories, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
