I was anchoring the morning news, when the cameras, walls, and ceiling began to shake- I thought the building was about to collapse
In my lifetime, I have never experienced, heard, or felt an earthquake. So, it was fair to say I didn’t consider the possibility of an earthquake when the studio began to shake around me.
It was 9:15 AM on Wednesday morning, we had just completed the first half of our news bulletin. As I observed the studio shuttering and thudding, I heard our producer’s muffled voice scream out, “What is happening, the building’s moving.”
With adrenalin rushing through my veins and high heels not made for running on, we dropped everything and ran for the exit. At that fleeting moment, the only plausible explanation I could think of was the infrastructure of our building has faults- get out!
A moment of panic
I’ve always been that person who said in a moment of emergency I would grab my possessions and think rationally. I was wrong. In a moment of sheer panic, I left my phone and possessions behind and ran for the door.
With the floor shaking beneath our feet, our morning newsroom team huddled together and sprinted to find the closest exit. I know it might sound dramatic, but I was immediately mapping out potential outcomes of the roof caving on top of us or the floor beneath us.
After about 30 seconds, our entire team was outside, trying to fathom what had just happened. In hindsight, I should have taken my phone, I should have taken a camera and I should have kept the rolling coverage going.
However, hindsight is a wonderful thing, because you never know what you will do when you experience a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in a three-story building. In a moment of panic, I had no idea we were living through the biggest earthquake to hit Australia since British settlement, 200 years ago.
How long did it last?
- The 5.8 magnitude quake hit near Mansfield, 180km northeast of Melbourne, about 9.15 AM today.
- The earthquake was initially recorded at a 6.0 magnitude but later revised down, with tremors lasting for about 30 seconds.
- Another 4.0 aftershock was recorded 18 minutes after the first tremor.
- Tremors were felt as far afield as Sydney, Dubbo, and Launceston — all about 700km away.
How much damage did it cause? Has there been any extensive damage?
- Images of minor damage to buildings have flooded social media
- So far there have been just 46 reports of damage across the state. About 35,000 homes lost power but must are back up now
- Building’s on the popular Chapel Street shopping precinct has collapsed
Tim McDonagh, the managing director of Betty’s Burgers, said seeing the damage was surreal and that it was a “catastrophe” in already unusual circumstances.
- there were reports of damage to brickwork and cracked pavement across the city.
