Strong magnitude 5.8 quake felt across central NZ

A strong magnitude 5.8 earthquake was felt across the centre of the country on Thursday evening.

It struck at 9.07pm, and was centred 30km north-east of French Pass at a depth of 51km, GNS Science said.

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More than 44,000 people reported feeling the quake – residents from across the motu, including Christchurch, Motueka, Wairarapa, Raglan, New Plymouth and South Auckland.

One resident in Foxton beach reported they felt a “very strong” shake, “rolling for a long time”.

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Another person on a boat in Wellington harbour said he and others felt the quake which brought them “out of [our] cabins”, he said.

GNS Science Seismologist John Ristau said deep earthquakes were typically felt widely due to the subducting tectonic plates under the North Island.

”Most of the quake’s energy travels up and along the plate to the surface closer to the East Coast,” Ristau said.

Deeper earthquakes also did not tend to produce significant aftershocks, he said, and while further earthquakes were always possible, it was unlikely.

Earthquakes of this size were not unusual for the area and happened about every year or two on average, Ristau said. The area was not as seismically active as some other regions of New Zealand like Fiordland or the East Coast of the North Island.

“The felt reports we received reflect how we would expect an earthquake of this size and depth to have been experienced.”

Chris McKay, staying in Tuamarina in Marlborough, said he was woken up by the quake.

“You kinda think, how bad is it going to be,” McKay said.

“It seemed to go on for quite some time,” he said, but it didn’t cause any damage.

All the dogs in the area “all went off”.

Karen Hewitt in Paraparaumu said she heard a “creaking noise” before the quake struck.

“The entire house shook for quite some time, it seemed.”

The cat in her house “ran around from room to room for a while after”, Hewitt said.

“And then came over to me to ensure I was OK.”

Bruce and Zoe Henderson were playing scrabble in their caravan at Mystery Creek where they are attending the Motorhome, Caravan and Leisure Show along with about 800 other caravan and motorhome owners.

They felt a gentle sway for about 10 seconds. They both realised it was an earthquake.

“I thought, I wonder if it was Taupō,” Bruce said.

Meanwhile, Antony Beaufort was chatting to friends in a hall in Hokitika after the end of their church meeting.

“We’d just finished up and were yakking together. The next minute we heard this noise.

”My question was ‘Did you hear that?’”

One of his friends said it sounds like a big clap of thunder.

Barbara Docherty was in the Wellington suburb of Johnsonville, when the quake struck.

“I have been in several scary earthquakes and thought this might be the beginning of another big one. Thankfully it stopped.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said no damage had been reported as of 9.30pm. Police had also not received any calls, a spokesperson said.

Ristau reminded people it was important to remember to “drop, cover, and hold” if shaking was felt. “Every earthquake is a good reminder to be prepared.”