The state of Victoria on Australia's east coast has been hit by an earthquake.
The magnitude 6.0 quake occurred on Wednesday morning (local time) in Mansfield about 200 kilometers northeast of the megacity of Melbourne, the region's emergency service said.
The tremors were also felt in the capital, Canberra, and in Sydney in the neighboring state of New South Wales.
The national meteorological office did not issue a tsunami warning.
According to media reports, numerous people ran into the streets in the second largest Australian city of Melbourne.
The online media featured images of Melbourne's popular shopping street around Chapel Street, which was littered with debris.
A journalist tweeted a photo of numerous bricks that lay smashed on the ground.
The emergency services announced that they had received numerous calls for help and that they were working with fire and rescue workers.
Some calls even came from the city of Dubbo, around 700 kilometers from the epicenter.
Strongest earthquake since 1997
The GeoNet network in New Zealand announced that it was the strongest quake on mainland Australia since 1997.
Unlike in neighboring New Zealand, earthquakes are very rare in Australia.
According to the US Geological Service (USGS), this was only the eighth earthquake in the region with a magnitude greater than 5.0 since 1973.
Local media also reported that buildings shook and items fell off shelves.
"There are currently no reports of serious injuries or worse, and that is very good news," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Initially, no major damage was reported either.