Singaporeans in Melbourne rattled but unharmed

When an earthquake hit Melbourne yesterday morning, some Singaporeans living there thought the tremors had been caused by strong winds, which often hit the Australian city.

Lawyer Ash Sandra, 38, said he lives close to state emergency services and did not hear any alarm when the 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck.

He said: "My initial reaction was that it was likely a strong wind. It was only when the furniture and building started shaking that confusion became shock."

For Ms Lim Jia Yi, 23, the experience was a first. The student at Monash University was attending online lectures in her room in a residential hall when her "entire hall shook".

She said it happened too fast for her to react.

"I stood up from my chair and wondered why everything was shaking. I didn't know what was going on," she said.

"I was unsure of what to do as I've never experienced an earthquake before... But we got reassurances quite quickly that we didn't have to evacuate, so that helped calm everyone down."

Other Singaporeans in the city expressed shock at the news.

Ms Shahirah Alqadri, a teacher, said she felt her bed shaking and heard the windows and furniture in her home rattling.

The 37-year-old, who has lived in Melbourne since 2018, said: "It was quite scary. I was concerned if I needed to evacuate and I have two cats with me."

Operations supervisor Liu YingXiu, 33, said she and her husband have been living in Melbourne for 12 to 13 years, and have felt previous quakes, but that yesterday's was the strongest yet.

Ms Melody Goh, 18, said people were shocked as earthquakes were not a common occurrence in Australia. The Monash University student has been living in the city for 10 years with her parents.

She was working part time at a supermarket storeroom when the quake hit and did not feel the tremors.

The windows and roof of the supermarket were rattling "vigorously", her manager told her.

Ms Goh said her parents were having breakfast at home when they felt tremors at around 9.15am and saw cabinets shaking.

"My mum ran outside as she thought the house was going to collapse. She said the birds were chirping really loudly."

The Singapore High Commission in Canberra said Singaporeans in affected areas should stay away from locations badly damaged by the earthquake, monitor the local news for updates and heed the advice of local authorities.