Melbourne and regional Victoria rocked by ‘earthquake’ as NSW feels tremors

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A magnitude 5.8 earthquake has rocked Melbourne and demolished part of a building on famous Chapel St, with tremors felt as far as NSW and Tasmania. 

The quake hit at 9.15am near the small town of Mansfield, 180km north-east of Melbourne. It was 10km deep, according to Geoscience Australia.

The quake was followed by two 4.0 and 3.1 magnitude aftershocks 18 and 39 minutes later – both within 10km of the original tremors.

The earthquake is the biggest Victoria has experienced since European settlement (1834) and there will be more aftershocks, a seismologist told ABC Radio Melbourne. 

Tremors were felt as far away as Tasmania, South Australia and some parts of Sydney. 

Pictures emerged of a Bettys Burgers fast food restaurant partially collapsed on Chapel St in Windsor in Melbourne’s inner-city. 

The burger chain later said in a statement that there was no-one inside the building at the time and all staff were safe. 

Office and apartment blocks across Melbourne were evacuated, with homeowners close to the epicentre in Mansfield reporting damage to their properties. 

There are also reports of damage in Prahran – where rubble was seen strewn across the road on Wattle Street – Brunswick, West Melbourne and Albert Park. 

Seismologists have meanwhile warned there could be more aftershocks throughout the day with a larger event also possible.

‘Geoscience have confirmed there is a possibility that we may receive further aftershocks and potential risk of further earthquakes,’ Victorian Deputy Premier James Merlino said in a press conference. 

‘Indeed, more aftershocks could occur for weeks, if not months.’

A homeowner near Leongatha in South Gippsland who was in the bathroom when the earthquake hit said the sound was like a ‘jet engine’ and the glass shower screen was shaking.

‘I grabbed my granddaughter and held her tight,’ the woman said. ‘It was very frightening.’

‘The whole world just shook,’ another Victorian said. 

New Zealander Colin, who lives in Ferntree Gully in Melbourne, said the quake felt just as powerful as the magnitude 6.2 Christchurch earthquake in 2011 that caused widespread damage across the city and killed 185 people.

‘About 30 seconds it lasted. I didn’t know whether to run outside or upstairs,’ he told Newstalk ZB.

‘I’m in a solid concrete house, so it really shook. It shook as much as I’ve felt in Christchurch.’

Victoria’s State Emergency Service confirmed the earthquake was ‘6.0 on the Richter scale and emanated from Mansfield. There is no tsunami threat’.  

Premier Daniel Andrews made the first official reaction to the earthquake, tweeting at 9.47am: ‘Yes, that was an earthquake.’ 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison then fronted a press conference in Washington DC – where he is taking part in the Quad leaders summit – to reveal the ‘rare event’ had so far led to no injuries.

‘These are very rare events in Australia and I am sure people would have been disturbed – particularly in the most immediate area effected,’ he said.

‘The agencies at a state government level are there responding, and the federal Government will provide the support that is necessary.’  

Mr Morrison said he was in ‘text contact’ with Mr Andrews about the quake. 

Emergency crews have warned Victorians to brace for further aftershocks throughout the day.

‘If you are located in Victoria, you are in danger,’ Victoria’s SES said in a statement.

The SES is receiving calls for assistance from across the state but is yet to make an assessment of any damage. 

Lynne Myers of High County Apparel in Mansfield told AAP ‘it just scared the hell out of us.’

‘Everything shook, the roof shook, boots fell off the shelf and I just ran outside,’ she said.

‘There’s no cracks or anything in the walls. We seem to have got over it pretty well. Everyone’s a bit shaken up here but there doesn’t seem to be any damage.

‘I’ve lived here 29 years and have never felt anything like it.’

Mansfield Shire Councillor Mark Holcombe said he lived in the area for 20 years but had never experienced an earthquake. 

He said it ‘came out of left field’.

Alice Murphy, a resident of Fitzroy 3km north of the Melbourne CBD, was working at her laptop when the tremors began.

‘For a second I thought it was a tram passing by or a huge gust of wind, but then the walls were shaking and the candles were bouncing off the mantlepiece,’ she said.

‘It lasted about 20 seconds and then everyone spilled out onto the street to make sure they hadn’t imagined it!’

A woman named Elizabeth from eastern Melbourne was on a work call when the quake hit.

‘All the windows were shaking, I yelled at the kids to come and stand in a doorway but our eight-year-old ran outside to see if any sinkholes were opening up,’ she said.

‘Fortunately that didn’t happen.’

Ciara Lynch, a 26-year-old Irishwoman living in Balaclava, nine kilometres south of the CBD, was in a Zoom meeting with colleagues in Melbourne and Sydney when her living room started to shake.

‘People were screaming on the call, it was the wildest thing I’ve ever experienced,’ she said.

Baristas at Industry Beans cafe in Melbourne’s inner-north said the walls ‘rumbled’ and lights swung from side to side while they took their morning break. 

More to come