'Noisy' 4.8 magnitude tremor hits lower North Island in late night jolt
A 4.8 magnitude quake struck the lower North Island late last night.
The epicentre of the quake was 65km southwest of Whanganui, off the coast, and hit just after 11pm, at a depth of 55km.
Geonet described the tremor as light.
More than 5200 people reported feeling it across the centre of the country from Taranaki to the top of the South Island, including in Marton, Palmerston North, Manaia, Havelock, Gonville, Kāpiti and Pātea.
One person commenting on Geonet’s Facebook page described it as “pretty noisy, almost like a double shake with lots of leading noise and mild shaking then a momentous quiet then the main shaking kicked in”.
Another person said they woke up to “a big jolt and dishes rattling”.
A Whanganui resident said they thought it was going to “push their couch over”.
Another poster described “hearing it but not really feeling it”.
“Thought it was a truck coming that didn’t arrive. Rattled my door but just felt uneasy didn’t feel any jolt or rumble.”
A person living in Taranaki said it rattled enough to dislodge a fixed item in their home.
“Knocked a picture off my wall at my place in Ōpunake.”
Geonet posted that the late-night shake affected those in the Whanganui Basin.
It described it as 70km west of Levin and felt across the lower North Island and top of the South Island.
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