Skip to main content

5.9 earthquake causes minor damage in Australia, no injuries

Share
MELBOURNE, Australia -

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake caused slight damage in suburban Melbourne on Wednesday in an unusually powerful temblor for Australia.

The quake hit about 130 kilometres (80 miles) northeast of Australia's second-most populous city near the town of Mansfield at a depth of 10 kilometres (6 miles), Geoscience Australia said.

Minor structural damage to chimneys, facades and older buildings was reported around the Melbourne metropolitan area. A hospital near the epicenter lost power, and fallen bricks littered some city streets.

Seismology Research Centre Chief Scientist Adam Pascale said it was the largest onshore quake in Victoria's recorded history.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said there were no reports of serious injury.

The earthquake was the largest to rattle Australia since a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 210 kilometres (130 miles) off the northwest coastal town of Broome in 2019.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks

Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.

Local Spotlight

N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49

A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.

Record-setting pop tab collection for Ontario boy

It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.