Australia Quake: 11 Dead, 120 Hurt : Temblor: Troops sent to halt Newcastle looting. Early loss estimates put at $1 billion. Crews dig for more victims believed buried in rubble.

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

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

“Buildings, awnings and that sort of thing all collapsed on the side of the buildings, and quite a lot of structural damage, in terms of brickwork, walls that have sort of come apart and fallen into the street,” said Paul Jenner, operations officer for New South Wales Emergency Services.

The quake struck on a summer day with a magnitude of 5.5. It was felt throughout New South Wales state, including Sydney, where it felt like a sharp jolt. Police said it was the first in Australia to hit a heavily populated area.

Scientists said further temblors were likely, but weaker than the initial quake.

Police Inspector Kenneth Holmes, commanding the police rescue operation, said he expected the death toll to rise. Police said 122 people were injured, many critically. The Newcastle Hospital suffered extensive damage to two wings, and evacuated patients.

With the Christmas holidays in full swing, patients taken out of the damaged beachfront hospital mingled with Christmas vacationers who continued to sunbathe and surf in the 86-degree heat of the Southern Hemisphere’s summer.

Newcastle has about 500,000 residents and is the most populous city in New South Wales after Sydney. The city on the southeast coast is a major shipping port and coal-mining center.

Prime Minister Bob Hawke cut short his holiday plans to visit the coal-rich plateau. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of condolence, the second in a week after a Dec. 15 bus crash that claimed 36 lives in Australia’s worst traffic accident.

The army was called in to patrol city 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 officers were sent into the city and the suburb of Hamilton to help police patrols.

The Insurance Council of Australia put the damage 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 in Golden, Colo.

Hundreds of thousands of homes across the state lost electricity and emergency services were stretched thin. Crews were flown from Sydney to help.

In one area of Newcastle, a parking structure collapsed, “crushing scores of cars,” a resident said on the radio. “I saw at least six people lying in the road.”

Some of the worst damage was at the Newcastle Workers’ Club, where workers coming off the night shift were relaxing for drinks. The building collapsed, burying at least four people.

Club employee Howard Gibson, 44, was in a second-floor auditorium when the temblor started.

“It was the most horrifying experience,” he said. “The whole place shook so violently you could hardly stand up. The chandeliers started to drop and the balcony collapsed as I ran out, catching me by the legs and the chest.

“At that point it stopped and I was lucky to have the strength to pull myself clear.”

Others were not so lucky. An unknown number were trapped as two floors carrying heavy electronic gambling machines crashed through the parking area below and into the basement.