HOBART, Australia (AP) — A moderately powerful earthquake struck Australia’s island state of Tasmania early Sunday, rocking buildings and sending switchboard operators at a police station scrambling for safety, but there were no reports of injuries or serious damage, officials said.
The magnitude 4.6 earthquake was centered near Lake Sorrell in central Tasmania, about 50 miles north of Hobart, said Wayne Peck, spokesman for the Mindata Seismology Research Center. It hit at about 7:20 a.m. (2120 GMT).
About 100 people contacted police and seismology centers to report buildings shaking, furniture moving and a house verandah shifting, he said.
Some of the call center staff at Hobart’s police headquarters evacuated their building after it shook, said Police Sgt. Pat Lee. “There was a lot of confusion and scared people for obvious reasons.”
