An earthquake of magnitude 6.0 struck near Melbourne in southern Australia on Wednesday, according to the Victoria State Emergency Service's news feed, causing damage in the city in an unusually powerful temblor for Australia.

Iran PressAsia: The quake’s epicenter was near the rural town of Mansfield in the state of Victoria, about 200 km northeast of Melbourne, and was at a depth of 10 km. An aftershock was rated 4.0.

Images and video footage circulating on social media showed rubble blocking one of Melbourne’s main streets, while people in northern parts of the city said on social media they had lost power and others said they were evacuated from buildings.

The quake was felt as far away as the city of Adelaide, 800 km to the west in the state of South Australia, and Sydney, 900 km to the north in New South Wales state, although there were no reports of damage outside Melbourne and no reports of injuries.

More than half of Australia’s 25 million population lives in the southeast of the country from Adelaide to Melbourne to Sydney.

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