Lower North Island rocked by magnitude 6.3 earthquake

The Lower North Island has been rocked by a strong earthquake.

The magnitude-6.3 quake struck at 7.38pm on Wednesday and was centred 50km northwest of Paraparaumu, at a depth of 48km. Geonet classified the quake as “strong”.

More than 60,600 people from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island reported feeling the quake on Geonet by 8.10pm. The majority of those people reported the quake as light, while 72 said it was extreme.

Train users in Wellington were told to expect severe delays immediately after the quake, with Metlink sticking to a 25kph speed restriction until it received full clearance. By 9.40pm train services had returned to regular services.

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National Party deputy leader Nicola Willis was at a Wellington Women’s Homeless Trust function at Sky Stadium with about 500 others when the earthquake hit.

“We were just standing talking around the table, and a few people started to hold the table,” she said.

Her first thoughts were hoping the earthquake wasn’t centered in an area ravaged by the rains. She saw some people try and get under the tables.

When asked how he felt about the quake Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said it was “unprintable”.

“I was looking out the window for a plague of locusts.”

A staff member at New World Metro Willis St, in Wellington, said no items seemed to have fallen from the shelves.

“I thought it was the wind to begin with.”

Another employee was sitting at a table when it happened and thought “someone was shaking their leg”, causing the table to wobble.

“It didn’t feel like much.”

Facebook’s Wellington – Live page had more than one thousand reactions from locals who felt the quake.

One posted that “Ohakune was shaking big time”. Another in Ōwhango, about 20km south of Taumaranui, said they were “only just cleaning up and got our power back on from the cyclone and now getting shaken by that earthquake”.

The National Emergency Management Agency had cleared any threats of a tsunami following the quake, while partner agencies and councils were checking for any superficial damage.

Civil Defence is monitoring the situation and no significant damage has been reported, a spokesperson said.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said at 8.20pm it had not been alerted to any incidents relating to the quake.

The last strong earthquake, also measuring 6, was 5km south of Te Aroha on February 3.