New Zealand / Natural Disasters

Early morning quake hits Waikato, Bay of Plenty

08:05 am on 29 December 2022

More than 5000 people reported feeling shaking on GeoNet. Photo: GeoNet

A small earthquake shook the eatern Waikato region awake just before 7am on Thursday.

The epicentre of the magnitude-3.9 quake was 5km south of Te Aroha, at a depth of 7km. It struck at 6.56am.

More than 5000 people reported feeling shaking on GeoNet, with most saying it was weak to light in intensity.

It could reportedly be felt up the Coromandel Peninsula, east of Tauranga and as far south as Te Kuiti.

There were even two reports of shaking reported to GeoNet from Auckland's North Shore.

"Woke me up with a jolt," one person in Bay of Plenty wrote on Twitter.

"Good shake in Hamilton," wrote another.