The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences reported on Wednesday that a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck near the town of Mount Buller, in southern Australia's state of Victoria.
However, the local Geoscience service recorded the main tremor to be at 6.0-magnitude.
The focus of the tremor is reportedly located about 130 km from the state's capital city, Melbourne, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC).
Tremors of such a magnitude are considered very powerful in Australia, and not only videos of shaking furniture from residents of Melbourne, but also an alleged video of destruction in the city have emerged on social networks.
Despite the severity of the earthquake, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has not declared a tsunami threat.
The more time passed after the powerful tremor, the more videos spread over social media showing the aftermath of the earthquake.
According to the website Earthquake Track, earthquakes in the Melbourne area are quite rare, especially of such magnitude that tremors were felt even in Canberra, which is about 660 km from Victoria.
And according to Geoscience Australia, every year, on average, 100 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater are registered in Australia. Earthquakes of magnitude 5.0, such as the devastating Newcastle earthquake of 1989, happen every one to two years on average. Every ten years or so, a potentially devastating earthquake of magnitude 6.0 or greater strikes Australia, such as the magnitude 6.5 Meckering earthquake in October 1968.