Earthquake sows panic in Melbourne, unaccustomed to earthquakes

Australia woke up with a start. A magnitude 5.9 earthquake shakes the southeastern part of Australia on Wednesday morning, September 22. It is enough for the panicked residents to shake the buildings of Melbourne and leave in an area not used for earthquakes.

The quake, which occurred at a depth of ten kilometers, shocked residents of Australia’s second largest city at 9am (1am in France) and was felt hundreds of kilometers away. Calls for help have been made to rescue services as far as Tupo, 700 kilometers from the center.

The United States Geological Studies (USGS) had a size of 5.8 before changing it to 5.9. Scenes of panicked residents leaving their homes have occupied social networking sites. Among them, Zoom Pim, 33, owner of Melbourne’s Open Hotel, rushed to the streets when the quake struck. “The whole building trembled. All the windows, the glass trembled, like a trembling wave”, He told the AFP.

Responding from New York, Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted there were no casualties or significant damage. However he agreed with the page “Very annoying” Earthquake in an area not used for earthquakes like Australia. Mike Sandiford, a geologist at the University of Melbourne, told AFP that this was the largest earthquake in southeastern Australia in many years.