Australia Quake Toll 11; Army Halts Looters

The army was sent in to stop looting today after Australia’s first fatal earthquake shattered the nation’s sixth-largest city, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 120.

The quake toppled buildings, crumbled walls, damaged pipes and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people in this coal and industrial city about 75 miles north of Sydney. Damage was put at $1 billion in a preliminary estimate.

Crews searched for more victims believed buried under tons of rubble.

The quake struck on a summer day at about 10:28 a.m. today (3:28 p.m. PST Wednesday) and had a magnitude of 5.5.

The quake was felt throughout New South Wales state--including Sydney, where it struck like a sharp jolt. Police said it was the first in Australia to hit a heavily populated area.

“It felt like there was someone under my bedroom floor who lifted the house,” said one Newcastle resident, who reported two aftershocks.

Police Inspector Kenneth Holmes, commanding the police rescue operation, said he expected the death toll to rise. Some early, unconfirmed reports, said as many as 30 people died.

Police said 122 people were injured, many critically. The Newcastle Hospital sustained extensive damage to two wings and evacuated patients.

The army was called in to patrol Newcastle’s streets to prevent looting. Police spokesman Simon Latimer said there were reports of looting in the city’s business district, one of the worst-hit areas.

He said 200 army troops were sent into the city and the suburb of Hamilton to help police patrols.

The Insurance Council of Australia put damages at $1 billion. John Westmore, acting chief executive, described the figure as “a very early estimate.”

Scientists said the quake, centered off Newcastle, was one of the most severe in memory and the first in Australia to claim lives.

“Earthquakes are very rare in that area,” said Waverly Person of the U.S. Geological Society.