Earthquake strikes Melbourne, no reports of injuries

March 7, 2009

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6 shook the Australian city of Melbourne late Friday night, spanning more than two hundred kilometres.

The epicenter of the quake was located just north of Korumburra, located in Southern Gippsland, but the earthquake was strong enough to be felt as far as Melbourne.

No injuries were reported, although some homes around the area of the epicenter lost power for about ten minutes. Only minor damage was reported.

"There's [sic] no reports of injury to the SES, however we have received approximately 30 calls for assistance across the state this evening," stated Allan Grigs, from the State Emergency Service. "Most of the calls have come from the Melbourne metropolitan area ... crews are now out just assessing the damage to these properties. It is reported as minor damage at this stage."

According to Geoscience Australia's John Scheider, "the last earthquake of any significant size in that area was the magnitude 5.0 earthquake at Thomson Reservoir [area] in 1996."