Mansfield magnitude-5.9 earthquake shakes Melbourne, regional Victoria, southern NSW, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Launceston
ABC.net.au
Victorian authorities say there is a chance of "significant aftershocks" in the upcoming weeks and months after the state was rocked by the largest earthquake in its history.
Geoscience Australia said the first earthquake was detected in the Alpine National Park south-east of Mansfield and north of Rawson around 9:15am and was 10 kilometres deep.
It also says the quake is one of the largest earthquakes in eastern Australia since European settlement.
The initial quake was followed by six aftershocks, with magnitudes of 3.5, 4.1, 2.5, 3.1, 2.4, 2.9, according to Tim Wiebusch, chief officer of operations Victoria's State Emergency Service.
"Earthquakes are one of those emergencies or hazards that you can't predict," he said.
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said the state was likely to see aftershocks in the weeks and even months ahead.
"There is still the chance of significant aftershocks to impact Victoria," he said, but he added they were unlikely to exceed the magnitude-5.9 quake.
Mr Wiebusch said there were 100 requests for assistance, around 55 of them in metropolitan Melbourne, and that most of the minor structural damage was to chimneys and facades.
He said it was fortunate the epicentre was in a less populated regional area.
"If that had occurred and in one of the more urban and populated areas, we could be seeing quite a different result," he said.
Acting Premier James Merlino said buildings had been damaged in the Mansfield township, but that there were "no reports of injury at this stage".
Mr Merlino said helicopters had been sent to the area to check for damage and a statewide Watch and Act warning was in place for Victoria.
He said minor building damage was recorded across the state, including in the Melbourne suburbs of Kensington, Ascot Vale, Parkdale, Prahran, Balwyn, Elsternwick, Northcote and West Melbourne.
Mr Merlino said most of the power outages in metropolitan Melbourne had been resolved and Beechworth hospital had been able to switch to backup generators when it lost power this morning.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, speaking earlier from the United States, said the earthquake was "very disturbing" and distressing and the federal government stood ready to support Victorians as required in the response.
The initial quake was felt 190 kilometres away in Melbourne as well as in regional Victoria, Sydney, regional New South Wales, the ACT, Adelaide and Launceston in Tasmania.
In Wagga Wagga, one resident told the ABC their six-storey building swayed from side to side when the earthquake hit.
Others described things flying from shelves or tables indoors.
Apartment buildings were evacuated in inner-Melbourne, where damage to streets and roads was being posted to social media.
Windows buckled as quake shook Mansfield
FoodWorks Mansfield assistant manager Karen McGregor said she first thought a truck was coming into town.
"The windows started shaking, the walls, and everything on the desk, it was really quite scary," she said.
"We ran downstairs to the shop, it was really, really scary down there. The windows were buckling.
"I was very scared. I just thought, oh my God, is this place going to fall down?"
Ms McGregor said she had not heard reports of anyone with any injuries.
Despite the shaking, she said the shop did not sustain too much damage, with only a few unbreakable items off the shelves.
Mansfield mother Rebecca Dingemans said she was cooking with her young daughter, Summer, at her feet when the quake struck, almost toppling a bookcase.
"That was quite violently shaking back and forth and I could see stuff that was going to fall off it. I'm in a panic thinking, what am I meant to do? Like, don't save that stuff, just save your own kid," she said.
Ms Dingemans said she had been ready to run outside with her daughter when she felt the aftershocks.
Cupboard a refuge as region shook violently
Daryl Horwood, who lives at Kevington, about 6km from Mansfield, took refuge in a cupboard as the quake hit.
"I was literally getting dressed after a shower and the house started to shake quite violently," he said.
"I got a bit worried so I went into one of the clothes cupboards and thought that might be the best place to stay for a little while.
"I thought, 'Well a doorway is pretty good, but the cupboard could be better'.
"It seemed quite a long time."
Best thing to do in an earthquake – drop, cover and hold on
Geoscience Australia senior seismologist Trevor Allen said the official advice when someone was in an earthquake was to "drop, cover and hold on".
"When you do feel the ground start to shake, and you recognise it is an earthquake, it's best to drop to the ground, cover under a sturdy desk or table and hold on until the shaking stops," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
During earthquakes, most injuries were not caused by building collapses, Dr Allen said, but by "non-structural items" such as bookshelves, falling on people.
Standing in a door frame was not recommended, as the door may swing shut and injure a person standing there during the quake.
Dr Allen said this magnitude of earthquake in Victoria was "very rare".
"It looks as if this was potentially the largest earthquake we have experienced in Victoria since European settlement," Dr Allen said.
"Given that it was such a large earthquake, we should expect to experience aftershocks from this particular event, they may continue for some weeks to months following this particular earthquake."
Ross, 60, who lives on the Bellarine Peninsula told ABC Radio Melbourne it was the biggest earthquake he had ever experienced.
"We've just moved into a round earth house on a concrete slab and the whole thing just rock and rolled and the water in the swimming pool went sloshing backwards and forwards," he said.
"I couldn't believe it."
Margot in Moonee Ponds said at first she thought her daughter was pranking her when her whole house began shaking.
"It was quite intense," she said.
"My chair was shaking… everything in the room was rattling and clinking together."
Expert says aftershocks could continue for months
Seismology Research Centre head Adam Pascale said the epicentre of the quake was north-east of Aberfeldy and the Thomson Dam in the Alpine National Park.
"We are still refining it, but we think it's a mag-5.8 potentially at this point in Gippsland," he told ABC Radio Gippsland.
"It shook here in the northern suburbs of Melbourne for about 15-20 seconds so it's quite a significant earthquake."
Mr Pascale warned there could be aftershocks to come and they could continue for months.
"There is a small likelihood that there could be a larger event but we'll see as we go," he said.
"The main things for people to remember is if they do start to feel some shaking. There's usually a primary and a secondary wave.
"The primary wave will give you a few seconds to get under a table and hold on."
University of Melbourne geology professor Mike Sandiford said that, while there would be aftershocks following this morning's earthquake, most of them would not be felt by humans.
"We get these sorts of earthquakes about every 10 years, the last big one was in 2012 — a magnitude-5 in Gippsland," Professor Sandiford said.
"These earthquakes will have aftershocks for sure, but they tend to be at least an order of magnitude smaller in their intensity, so they won't do nearly as much damage."
Ander Guinea, geophysics and hydrogeology expert at Ballarat's Federation University, said from time to time, fractures in the earth move a little — "similar to how after sitting on a chair for two hours, you have to reposition yourself a bit".
Dr Guinea said if an earthquake of this kind had occurred in western Victoria, and had been deeper in the earth’s crust, it could have formed a volcano.
"At deeper locations, we know there might be some magma forming and this is a real danger most people in western Victoria are not aware of," he said.
"In Ballarat, we have Mount Warrenheip and Mount Buninyong that were active not so long ago.
"We know it is very likely that a volcano will erupt at some point, but it could be in thousands of years. I wouldn't be worried."
Melbourne restaurant building partially collapses
Betty's Burgers Windsor owner, Rodney, said the building housing his restaurant had partially collapsed.
"We've had some damage but the main thing is that everyone is safe," he said.
"There was only one person up there, they got out, so there were no injuries — just a bit of a surprise. Earthquake in Windsor, hard to believe."
Rodney said he assumed people were joking about an earthquake in the city.
"I was home, I live around the corner. I was about to go to the office and all of a sudden my phone started ringing hot. I thought it was a practical joke, who has earthquakes in Windsor or Prahran?" he said.
"So, we've notified the insurer. Main thing is everybody's well, everybody's safe and no one was injured and that's really the only thing I was thinking about.
"It looks like something collapsed from the top of the roof and it came down, so hoping it's not too serious but we'll send someone in, they'll have a look and assess it and make sure that before anyone goes back, everybody's got a safe place to go to."
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