A rare earthquake hits Melbourne, Australia, but causes little damage; It is the largest in 120 years

(CNN) – Melbourne was hit by a rare, shallow earthquake on Sunday, the largest to hit an Australian city in more than a century, shaking buildings but eventually causing minor damage.

Preliminary information indicated that the earthquake had a magnitude of 3.8 The northwestern suburb of Sunbury shook It’s 11:41 p.m. local time on two kilometers deep, According to the government agency Geoscience Australia.

Adam Pascal, Senior Scientist at the Victorian Center for Seismology Research, earthquake said It was the largest earthquake within 40 kilometers of Melbourne since a magnitude 4.5 earthquake in 1902.

“Wake me up! Maybe 5-10 seconds of slight shaking. Pascal said on Twitter.

Geoscience Australia said it had received more than 21,000 reports of the quake, with shock waves felt as far away as the city of Bendigo, about 150 kilometers north of Melbourne, and as far south as Hobart on the island of Tasmania.

In April, Melbourne overtook Sydney W.C It has become the most populous city in AustraliaMany of the city’s 5.8 million residents woke up Monday with a story to tell.

“I felt like a plane crashed right next to my house or something,” one resident said. According to CNN affiliate 7News.

“I’m on the 70th floor of Eureka Tower and the whole building is swaying a few metres,” another Melbourne resident said on Twitter, referring to the skyscraper in the city centre, on CNN affiliate Sky News Australia.

One said he “ran away from home with a machete” in his pajamas.

“Our old home looked like it was being broken into,” they added, according to Sky News Australia.

Australian Bureau of Meteorology he said on Twitter There was no danger of a tsunami from the quake, although emergency services have warned of possible aftershocks In a statement on Facebook.

Most earthquakes occur in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the world’s most active volcanoes are located and where tremors occur when tectonic plates push against each other.

Earthquakes are not uncommon in Australia, although the continent experiences seismic activity due to the movement of tectonic plates.

In 2021, Victoria was hit by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake that caused some minor structural damage in Melbourne even though it was located almost 200km away.