GeoNet's shaking map for the quake that hit Greymouth on 6 April, 2024. Photo: GeoNet
A "strong" quake shook the South Island late on Saturday night, with people as far away as Auckland reporting they felt it.
The magnitude 5.1 quake struck at 11.37pm, in the ocean five kilometres northwest of Greymouth, on the West Coast, at a depth of five kilometres.
Greymouth mayor Tania Gibson said it was "quite a sharp jolt".
"There was quite a big noise like a freight train coming, and then all of a sudden there was movement.
"So yeah, it was quite eerie, and then there was another couple [of aftershocks] after that."
GeoNet described the shaking as "strong". There were more than 1400 felt reports, with six calling it "extreme".
"Hopefully everything's all right and there are no reports [of damage]", said Gibson.
"I was watching my phone very carefully afterwards for any messages from Civil Defence, but it seems like everything [is] fine at this stage."
Most reports came from the South Island, as far south as Dunedin, while a number of people in North Island locations such as Hawke's Bay, Wellington, south Waikato and even Auckland said they felt it.
Two aftershocks measured magnitude 2.8 and 3.9.