Magnitude 5.2 earthquake centred near Nelson shakes lower North Island

Sunday, 22 July 2018

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake, centred off Nelson, has been felt across central New Zealand.

The quake struck 20km east of Nelson, at a depth 73km, at 3.14pm on Sunday, GeoNet said.

It described the shaking as 'moderate'.

More than 8000 people reported to have felt the earthquake shortly after, some as far away as Auckland and Christchurch. 

A Picton resident said he felt the earthquake, but it wasn't large. 

'It was just a normal quake. It just rumbled through, didn't do any damage.  It just rattled the bottles.'