'Short, sharp jolt': 5.4 magnitude quake rocks east coast of North Island

Author: Tom Rose ,
Publish Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2026, 9:13am

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake has struck off New Zealand's north-eastern seaboard, with over 1000 Kiwis across the North Island reporting feeling it.

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake has struck off the North Island’s east coast this morning.

The quake was at 8.33am in ocean 70km north of the Bay of Plenty’s Te Kaha.

Within minutes of the quake striking around 1000 people registered feeling it.

Geonet said the quake was initially recorded as 107km deep but revised to 104km deep 30 minutes later. The epicentre of the quake was also revised to 70km north of Te Kaha.

It reported the shaking as light.

Most of those who reported feeling the tremor were around the Bay of Plenty, particularly in eastern places such as Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki.

A sizable number of people in Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne and the East Cape also reported the shake.

The earthquake could be felt as south as Wellington and as far north as Tauranga, with one person in north Auckland also reporting weak shaking.

“Kids were way quicker than I with the drop cover and hold, I thought it was the rubbish truck haha,” one woman posted on Tairāwhiti Civil Defence Facebook page.

“A wee sway in Napier,” another wrote.

“I don’t always feel them, but I certainly felt it rocking in Lytton West,” another commented.

On the East Cape, one woman said they felt the quake in Punaruku, near Te Araroa, while another person in Te Kaha said it was “mild”.

In Ōpōtiki, a third person confirmed they felt the “short and sharp” jolt.