Australia: Earthquake hits near Melbourne, shakes southeast region of country

The tremors were felt in neighbouring states but no damage was reported outside Melbourne and no injuries were reported.

An earthquake of 6.0 magnitude measured on the Richter scale struck near Melbourne of Australia and shook the southeastern region of the country Wednesday morning. It is one of the rare and biggest earthquakes on records. The quake caused damage to houses, shook buildings and knocked down walls that made people run out of their houses in panic.

The quake's epicentre was near the rural town of Mansfield in Victoria, which is about 200 km northeast of Melbourne. The earthquake was recorded at a depth of 10 km and an aftershock was also recorded at 4.0, reported Reuters.

According to social media platforms, people of Melbourne reported that they had lost power and some were evacuated from buildings. The tremors were felt in neighbouring states but no damage was reported outside Melbourne and no injuries were reported.

"It can be a very disturbing event, an earthquake of this nature. They are very rare events in Australia and as a result, I am sure people would have been quite distressed and disturbed," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Washington, who is currently on a three-day visit to the US for the Quad Summit.