A severe magnitude 5.8 earthquake has been widely felt across the lower North Island this evening.
The quake hit at 9.05pm and was located 15km east of Pongaroa, a small locality in the Manawatū region.
At a depth of 24km, the quake was strongly felt by thousands of residents in the lower North Island, mostly in Palmerston North, Feilding and Hawke's Bay.
Residents in Pongaroa said they felt the quake last for about 30 seconds.
One resident said their entire house was shaking but there was no damage.
"A couple of things fell of the shelf, but all good."
Pongaroa Senior Constable Dave Kirk said he had called around the community, as well as people in the Akitio area.
So far, there had been no injuries or significant property damage.
He said there had been a few earthquakes over the last couple of weeks.
"This was a goody though," said Kirk.
Senior Sergeant David Burmeister, of Palmerston North, said he had been in touch with police in the area, and no damage had been reported.
"There is no obvious damage and no calls out at this stage," he said.
Labour Party MPs Iain Lees-Galloway and Grant Robinson tweeted they felt the earthquake.
"Obligatory earthquake tweet. #eqnz," said Lees-Galloway. Robinson said there was a "definite #eqnz in Wellington".
Manawatū-Wanganui Civil Defence and Emergency Management posted on their Facebook page that the earthquake was a timely reminder to remember what people should do to keep themselves safe during and after an earthquake.
New Zealand ShakeOut, a nationwide earthquake drill organised by the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management, will take place this Thursday.
For more information on ShakeOut, go to shakeout.govt.nz.
Source: Stuff.co.nz
Be the first to comment