A 5.9 magnitude earthquake has shaken Bay of Plenty.
A 5.3 magnitude earthquake shook Bay of Plenty this morning. Photo: Twitter / Geonet
The quake just after 5.30am, was 50 km north-west of Te Kaha at a depth of 115 kilometres.
More than 5000 people reported feeling the shake.
A man in Opotiki said he was said there was a good shake.
"I was fast asleep and I was suddenly jolted awake, it was a very sharp jolt and after the initial jolt there was quite a bit of shaking which seemed to go on for about 20 or 30 seconds.
"Things were definitely rattling, I could hear the cabinet rattling...and the house shaking."
A Gisborne listener, Anna, said people there felt a "good shake" and everyone jumped out of bed.
But she said the jolt did not faze the birds chattering near her home.
On Twitter, Geonet said deeper quakes like this one are often widely felt, especially down the East Coast where the rigid subducting Pacific Plate is good at transmitting seismic energy.