Strong earthquake in the greater Melbourne area, Australia

Last update: June 19, 2012 at 2:38 pm by By Armand Vervaeck and James Daniell

Summary 14:00UTC:

This was recorded as the largest quake in Victoria since the 1903 Warnambool events (Mb 5.3), however the 1969 event of Ml5.3 and 1982 event of Ml5.4 are also in the same ballpark. The Seismological research center of ES&S still has the earthquake recorded as an Ml5.5.

A number of foodstock losses will also occur at various supermarkets with many items being thrown off the shelves.

A number of houses have recorded damage in the form of cracks to walls, ceilings and in other concrete as well as other minor damage such as fallen tiles.

Update 13:10UTC:

Still waiting for further damage reports from the ground, with at least 25 potential instances of damage being recorded at this point through the SES. VicSES has implemented a Quake safety awareness and response program “QuakeSafe” in the past few years.

Update 13:05UTC:

Residential property has sustained minor damage from the tremor. Some residential properties in Moe and some in the La Trobe Valley appeared to be the hardest hit.

“There’s been cracks in walls, damage to ceilings and windows, and possibly some building damage so far” said SES Spokesman Lachlan Quick talking to news services in Australia.

The instance of damage from further afield in Moe has brought the potential estimated damage bill to between $0.7 and 4.1 million AUD from rapid loss estimation packages but further calibration is required on the intensities from the ground before any concrete estimate can be released.

Summary 13:00UTC:
– A shallow Mb5.3 earthquake struck just after 20:53 (8:53pm) local time around the Latrobe Valley at Childers, south of Trafalgar.
– Over 35 calls have been put into the Victorian SES for assistance.
– No major damage reported as yet.
– Around 7000 people live in the VI intensity area, with many more in the V intensity area.

Update 12:56UTC: Anyone living in or near Childers with Internet access would be very much appreciated to submit a felt report. Thankyou to all Victorians for their responses – it really helps us to pinpoint the damage area!

Update 12:50UTC: Just to show the effect of this quake around 10-12 km away from the epicenter in Trafalgar – “Have experienced lighter tremors in this area before i.e. Mid Gippsland eminating in South Gippsland Region, but this was clearly the most dramatic…. Previous ones were around 4.3. Whole house shaking with this one i.e. quite violently more of a 5 or above and accompanying strange sound/noise. All the neighbours ran out into the street afterwards. Felt at first like a sudden wind”.

From Mirboo North – “Shaking and noise lasted about 20 seconds? I have never felt anything so violent in my life.”

From Moe – “Was in the car, felt like people jumping on it. Got home stuff over the floor and cupboard doors opened.”

The seismogram at Toolangi (about 120km away)

Update 12:48UTC: For people interested in the economics of the region, East Gippsland has a $1.72 billion GDP mainly due to the manufacturing and construction industry. The area affected however, is slightly west of this area, and has a capital stock of around $65 million with less than 1% damage expected, meaning that there is likely to be less than $1 million damage at this stage based on historic statistics, if any! Trafalgar used to have a cheese factory but was closed in 1990, meaning the cruel fate seen to the cheese in Italy, will not occur here.

Update 12:44UTC:  VICSES has recieved 35 requests for assistance so far from the broader Gippsland area and parts of metropolitan Melbourne.

Update: At least 7,000 people would be within potentially damaging area. With the main towns being Yarragon (1100+), Trafalgar (2600+) and Mirboo North (2000+) within this area. The larger towns/cities of Moe-Newborough, Morwell, Yarragul and Leongatha are far enough away to have only very slight to no damage.

Update: The quake would have been felt for around 30 seconds looking at the following seismogram of the event. The Victorian State Emergency Service (SES) have received 20 requests for assistance in the broader Gippsland area and parts of Melbourne. No significant damage has as such been recorded however. Mirboo North could also have sustained cracks in houses.

Update: It has also been felt at about Intensity V in Morwell. Childers is expected to have an intensity of VI or VII.

The local view of the epicentral area. Childers is a small rural community. Courtesy: Homesales.

Update: The epicenter was located about 10km south of the Princes Highway, the main truck and transport route around Australia.

Update: Mb5.3 as recorded by Geoscience Australia – also SW of Moe. This will cause slight damage such as broken windows and cracking in the immediate area. It has been recorded near the village of Childers near Yarragon North. This is located south of Trafalgar. Being dark given that it is winter in Australia, it will be difficult to evaluate the damage.

It should be said that the earthquake hypocenter location has not been finalised from Geoscience Australia yet.

Update: The 1922 earthquake was the last earthquake to cause damage in Victoria with a magnitude higher. Since the 1800s, there have been at least 15 damaging earthquakes in Victoria of significance, the last being in 2009. The famous Warnambool earthquakes of 1903, and the Selwyn Fault quake of 1932 have been the most famous. – CATDAT Damaging Earthquakes Database.

Update: Ml5.5, 10km depth. Residents have recorded shaking of up to 40 seconds, with some soft soils in the area meaning shaking would have been felt longer than expected for such a magnitude.

Update: The earthquake has been given as Ml5.5 by some sources. The earthquake is far enough away from power stations to not have any problems, but some local lines may be affected.

Update: Victorian Police say they have received a number of calls in relation to the tremor. They say they do not have any reports of major damage which is expected with the intensities seen. The news caused immediate panic on the internet. The Geoscience Australia website crashed as people flocked online to see what had happened. We will keep you posted.

Update : This earthquake has been felt at a V intensity at Moe-Yallourn, IV at Morwell, III in Melbourne and other areas. It is likely to have caused some minor damage near the epicenter.

All historic damaging earthquakes in Australia can be seen in this paper here on the socio-economic effects of Australian earthquakes.

Update : Moe and Latrobe Valley is a famous coalmining and electricity production industry area. In addition, they have had earthquakes recently near Mt. Baw Baw of the same magnitude in 1996, Ml5.0.

The coal mining and electricity production industry (Wiki)

Update : The epicenter is in the greater Melbourne area, very close to Trafalgar, Narracan and Moe
The earthquake is very shallow and has a Magnitude who can inflict some minor damage.
Based on the overwhelming number of reports we are receiving, a merely light top moderate shaking has been experienced by many people.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 occurred in the highly populated region of Victoria in Australia. The earthquake happened 5km from Trafalgar. The nearest populated places are: Mirboo North (18km), North Mirboo (18km), Boolarra (16km), Darlimurla (14km), Hallston (19km), Allambee South (14km), Delburn (10km), Thorpdale South (11km), Yinnar (14km), Childers (10km), Hazelwood (15km), Thorpdale (5km), Narracan (4km), Allambee (14km), Trafalgar South (3km), Gainsborough (20km), Cloverlea (17km), Coalville (6km), Morwell (18km), Yarragon (12km), Haunted Hills (13km), Darnum (17km), Yallourn (15km), Moe (9km), Trafalgar East (8km), Tanjil South (16km), Shady Creek (19km), Willow Grove (19km). The closest civilian airport is La Trobe Regional (25km).

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 5.2 (USGS), 5.3 Mb (body wave magnitude) Geoscience Australia.
UTC Time : Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at 10:53:29 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Tuesday, June 19, 2012 at 08:53:29 PM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 9.9 km USGS, 10km GA
Geo-location(s) :

for more information and updates, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/06/19/strong-earthquake-in-the-greater-melbourne-area-australia/