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Earthquake shakes Australian city

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-07 00:25

MELBOURNE -- Australia's second-largest city, Melbourne, was shaken by an earthquake Friday, but police said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Residents reported buildings shaking across the metropolitan area and other parts of southeastern Victoria state, recently ravaged by wildfires which killed 210 people.

"Being so close to the fire areas and having been on alert the last two to three weeks, our only thought was 'oh my God, what now?'" said Kate Bruce of Doreen.

"My kids thought that the roof was coming off, that's how loud it was here."

Related readings:  Australia wildfire death toll reaches 200  Australia holds day of mourning for fire victims

The United States Geological Survey said the 4.7 magnitude quake struck about 96 kilometres (59 miles) southeast of Melbourne shortly before 9.00 pm (1000 GMT) at a depth of 10 kilometres.

"We were just sitting down watching the TV and then the whole house absolutely shook," James Sandman of Drouin town told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"The foundations shook, the walls moved, they wobbled, and myself and my wife just looked at each other and we both then looked at the exits wondering 'do we need to get out?'"

Seismologist Phil Cummins at Geoscience Australia, which monitors earthquake activity, told the national AAP news agency the quake "is unlikely to have caused any damage, except possibly some minor damage near the epicentre."

"We are in Gippsland in Krowera, and the earth tremor sounded like an explosion here," another resident said.

"[It] felt like something very big had hit the house. Our power also went out for about eight to 10 minutes."

Victorian State Emergency Service spokesman Allen Briggs said the service had been inundated with phone calls from the public but there had been no reports of any damage immediately after the tremor.

"It was certainly enough to rattle windows and we've had reports it was felt in metropolitan Melbourne and as far down as Warragul and Leongatha in Gippsland," Briggs said.

Just three Australian earthquakes are known to have caused fatalities, the University of Western Australia says on its website, with the worst being in 1989 in Newcastle in New South Wales state, which killed 13 people.