ABC’s News Breakfast program caught the moment the 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit Melbourne, and shout out to sports presenter Tony Armstrong who was thiiiiiiiis close to saying “that’s fucked”.
Although it doesn’t look like the footage was taken while the program was on air, the cameras were still rolling – so we have the footage.
Presenter Michael Rowland was speaking when the earthquake hit, with the camera beginning to shake.
“Ooh, I’ve never had an earthquake in here before,” someone says off camera.
“It’s fucking scary,” another off-camera person adds.
“Is it an earthquake or a structural thing?” Rowland asks, before standing up. “Let’s go. That was a big one.”
“That’s f……” Armstrong says, before changing tact. “That’s still tremoring.”
A magnitude six #Earthquake has rattled Melbourne and regional Victoria.
This is the moment when News Breakfast presenters @mjrowland68 and @Tonaaayy_ were rocked by it. pic.twitter.com/Z4gz0sWJve— News Breakfast (@BreakfastNews) September 21, 2021
The 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit Mansfield in Victoria’s north-east around 9.15 this morning, and was 10km deep, according to Geoscience Australia, the national earthquake monitoring agency.
It was originally reported to be a 6.0 magnitude quake, but was later revised.
Region: Mansfield, VIC
Mag: 6.0
UTC: 2021-09-21 23:15:54
Lat: -37.42, Lon: 146.32
Dep: 10km
For more info and updates, or if you felt this earthquake, go to https://t.co/XDfYnAnC4h— EarthquakesGA (@EarthquakesGA) September 21, 2021
It is potentially the largest earthquake ever recorded in eastern Australia, and is reported to have been felt in regional Victoria, Melbourne, regional NSW, Sydney, the ACT, Adelaide and Launceston.
A second earthquake, this one a magnitude 4.0, was recorded about 15 minutes later.
There are no reports of fatalities, but buildings are being evacuated while the damage is assessed.
It’s possible there will be further aftershocks – if that happens, stay indoors until the shaking stops and ideally take cover under a table or other piece of furniture. If there isn’t a table or desk nearby, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch inside a corner of a building.
If you’re driving, pull over to a clear location away from buildings, trees, overpasses and powerlines.
You can find more safety tips here.
