Largest earthquake in 120 years hit Melbourne

Melbourne experienced a rare and shallow earthquake on Sunday, which was the largest seismic event to occur in the city in over a hundred years. Although the buildings swayed, the earthquake resulted in minor damage.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology assured the public that there was no risk of a tsunami resulting from the earthquake. However, emergency services cautioned about potential aftershocks. Geoscience Australia received over 21,000 reports of the earthquake, with tremors felt as far as Bendigo, approximately 150 kilometers north of Melbourne.

According to Geoscience Australia, preliminary data showed that the earthquake, measuring 3.8 on the magnitude scale, occurred at 11:41 pm local time in the northwestern suburb of Sunbury and it had a shallow depth of 2 kilometers (1.24 miles).

Adam Pascale, the chief scientist at the Seismology Research Centre in Victoria, stated that this earthquake was the most significant in the vicinity of Melbourne in the past four decades. Pascale took to Twitter to share his experience, mentioning that the earthquake woke him up. He described the shaking as minor and lasting around 5-10 seconds.

In April, Melbourne became Australia's most populous city, surpassing Sydney. Many of its 5.8 million residents woke up on Monday with stories about the earthquake. Some residents likened the shaking to a nearby plane crash, while others reported the swaying of tall buildings like the Eureka Tower.

Although Australia is not known for frequent seismic activity, earthquakes do occur due to tectonic plate movements. The majority of earthquakes are concentrated in the Pacific Ring of Fire, where highly active volcanoes are situated, and tectonic plates interact. In 2021, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Victoria, causing minor structural damage in Melbourne despite its distance of nearly 200 kilometers from the city.