The moment the biggest recorded onland earthquake rumbled through Melbourne

It was a year ago today that lockdown-weary Victorians were rattled by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake. We look back on that eventful morning.

One year ago today, Victorians going about their morning were rocked by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that rattled the bones of a lockdown weary population.

Despite being relatively small on a global scale, the September 22 earthquake that struck at 9.15am was the biggest onshore earthquake ever recorded in Victoria.

The epicentre of the tremor was at Woods Point, a town 179km north east of Melbourne’s CBD, with the tremors felt up to 700km away.

Forty-six buildings across the city were damaged, with social media lighting up as people tweeted pictures of rubble strewn across streets.

oh no the falcons #melbourneearthquake pic.twitter.com/8zKrVmaqMo

— Anneliese Mak (@AnnelieseMak) September 21, 2021

Buildings in Chapel St and Windsor and Wattle streets in Prahran all recorded significant damage.

An emergency service and rescue official examining the damage to a building on Chapel St in Melbourne on September 22, 2021. Picture: AFP

Debris is seen in Wattle St, Prahran, between Coles and Woolworths after an earthquake that measured 5.9 on the Richter scale. Picture: Mark Stewart

Damaged buildings (Betty’s Burgers) following the earthquake are seen along Chapel St. Picture: Getty Images

Interrupting Zoom calls, online classes and sleep-ins, reactions to the earthquake were widely varying, most people not knowing what to do or how to react.

People online delighted the internet with videos caught in the moment, of both human and animal reactions to the surprise natural occurrence.

@nursex78 #melbourneearthquake #melbournelockdown #earthquake2021 #pandemic #covid19 #riots #earthquake #whatsnext #mansfield #bestwaytowakemeupinthemorning ♬ original sound - 🅽🆄🆁🆂🅴🆇

@davidsouthwickmp As if this week couldn’t get any worse - now we have an #earthquake! #fyp #foryoupage #melbourne #melbourneearthquake #victoria ♬ original sound - David Southwick MP

@itslizbennett Oh an earthquake on top of pestilence, famine and war (civil unrest anyway) #neat #melbourne #earthquake #straya ♬ original sound - Liz Bennett

@nolyn_mac Melbourne earthquake be like #melbourne #fyp #melbourneearthquake #danandrews #pharmacy #melbournelockdown #foryoupage ♬ man eater x need to know by Altegomusic - ALTÉGO

@stefjones4 my sister verbalising what the whole of Melbourne is thinking right now #fyp #melbourne #earthquake #melbourneearthquake #melbournelockdown ♬ original sound - Stef Jones

Reaching a depth of 10km, the earthquake was felt as far away as Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide.

@catheaven5 #Tommy #fypシ #lockdown #earthquakeinmelbourne #australia #melbourne #foryoupage #catsoftiktok ♬ its worse. its much worse. - Kat

@k3wpiegirl50ph that little shake has fueled talk for the next week in melb ❤️ #earthquake #melbourne ♬ wit my h0e remix katozaii - hhi

@deanwrobinson Shake it up #earthquake #melbourne #melbourneearthquake #melb #fyp ♬ original sound - VintageTelevision

@whiskysprinkles Category is: APOCALYPSE 🥲💅🏼 #melbourne #melbourneaustralia #earthquake #tiktokaustralia #australia #auspol #lockdown #fyp #foryou #viral #trending ♬ original sound - Nancyandersonfit

@millennialcrisis Which one were you 🙃 #melbourneearthquake #melbourne #melbournelockdown ♬ original sound - Kyle & Jackie O

@livysofie #fyp #foryou #earthquake #melbourne ♬ Tainted Love - Soft Cell

@prusecco The best thing about the earthquake is the memes #fyp #foryoupage #melbourne #earthquake #victoria #danandrews #lockdown ♬ Kesha- Your Love Is My Drug - SunriseMusic

Thankfully, despite the damage, just one person suffered minor injuries, while about 35,000 homes lost power in the immediate aftershock of the quake.

According to Earth Resources, a branch of the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions in the state government, geoscientists believed the earthquake was the result of pressure transferred through tectonic plates, originating in New Zealand.

The built-up pressure caused a small part of an ancient geological fault to reactivate. Previously mapped by geologists, it had been named the Governor Fault.

The Governor Fault, a large and complex structure, extends from near Echuca and the northern parts of the Murray River, to the Gippsland Lakes in the southern region of the state. The fault line passes through the heart of the Victorian Alps.

The earthquake was “just a continuation of a long, ongoing natural process,” they said.