'Bit of a shaky weekend': NZ hit by three quakes three days in a row
It’s been a shaky weekend for New Zealand, with GeoNet recording three magnitude 5-plus earthquakes in separate parts of the country.
A magnitude 5.7 quake struck 10km south of Te Araroa on North Island’s East Coast at 8.35pm last night.
According to GeoNet, the quake had a depth of 40km and more than 5000 people reported feeling the shaking, which was classified as “strong”.
Two smaller aftershocks followed soon after the main tremor - a magnitude 3 quake was recorded in the area at 8.40pm, followed by a magnitude 3.1 aftershock at 9.07pm.
Both were centred in Te Araroa at depths of 38km.
One person in Kawerau told the Herald the quake went on for some time.
A magnitude 5.7 quake struck near Te Araroa on the North Island’s East Coast last night. Photo / Geonet
“My partner and I watched the nightshade swaying around and around as we felt the movement.”
Another local in Whakatāne said their house shook lightly for about four seconds, followed by a “sharper shake” that lasted six or seven more.
“Cat leapt up but did not run for the door!” they said.
Social media users reported feeling the quake across the eastern and central North Island, including Hawke’s Bay, Rotorua, Ōpōtiki, Ruatōria, Matatā and the Coromandel.
Residents in South Taranaki reported hearing a rumble before feeling the shaking, while people in New Plymouth described “just a quick jolt”.
One person in Gisborne described it only as a “gentle roll”, yet another local detailed the opposite, saying they experienced a “brief shake” that suddenly jumped “to a quick shudder” and rattled their house.
‘Bit of a shaky weekend’
GeoNet took to social media last night “after a bit of a shaky weekend” to remind Kiwis of New Zealand’s continuous seismic unrest.
“In our beautiful country earthquakes can occur anywhere at anytime,” it wrote.
“Remember, drop, cover and hold is the right action to take during an earthquake.
“If you’re near the coast and the shaking is long or strong, then get gone.”
At the same time, NZ Civil Defence said the quake was the latest in “a shaky few days across the motu”.
“It’s a reminder that our beautiful landscapes were formed by massive forces at work below the surface, and living alongside them means staying prepared,” NZ Civil Defence wrote on Facebook
A magnitude 5.2 quake struck at about 35km northwest of Te Anau on Saturday afternoon, with nearly 1500 people throughout the lower South Island reporting the “light” tremor to GeoNet.
The night before, a magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck off New Zealand’s coast at 11.09pm.
With its epicentre about 30km northwest of Porirua at a depth of 38km, GeoNet received reports from nearly 9000 people between Auckland and Christchurch.
Many described hearing the quake before feeling it, with a Kāpiti man noting the “phone alert went off same time as I heard [the earthquake].”
“Started with an audible bang before the shaking started,” one woman wrote on Facebook.
“Heard that one coming,” wrote another on X.
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