A magnitude 5.4 earthquake has struck near Kaikōura.
Photo: 123RF
Geonet said the quake hit at 5.10pm, at a depth of 13 kilometres, 10km west of Kaikōura.
Fire and Emergency said so far they hadn't received any reports of damage or calls for help.
The owner of Dive Kaikōura, Steven Blume, said the quake made things move a bit.
"The girls inside started yelling, and I looked inside, I could see things on the shelves moving, bags swaying and when I stepped inside I could see the light pendulum swinging around, but I didn't feel it standing in the street."
Mr Blume said he was pleased the precautions they took following following November's quake seemed to have worked and there was no damage.
GeoNet duty seismologist Anna Kaiser said it was an aftershock from last November's 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
"It's the biggest aftershock we've had in a while, being over a magnitude 5 is certainly enough for people to take notice and for it to be felt quite widely as well, as far north as Wellington and also down and Christchurch," she said.
"We still expect to see these type of aftershocks from time to time, so it's certainly within the normal or typical aftershock behaviour."
Ms Kaiser said it was a relatively shallow quake and that was quite typical of most of the Kaikōura aftershocks.
"Most of them are in the upper crust or at relatively shallow depth, so it's consistent with what we're seen before in that area.
"It is a good reminder just to think again about the emergency plans you have in place, and to check the Civil Defence website for ways to be prepared going forward, because you never know when a big one will hit."