On 1 March 1954 for 20 to 30 seconds, a 5.5 Richter Scale earthquake caused damage to 3000 buildings including collapsed and cracked walls, smashed windows and collapsed chimneys mainly in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. Some houses were reduced to rubble. The earthquake, which started at approximately 3.45 am, caused some metropolitan areas to lose power for two hours. Several big city buildings were cracked and damaged. It also resulted in three people being seriously injured. At the time, damage from the earthquake was estimated at approximately £3 million.