Strong magnitude-6.2 earthquake rattles New Zealand's North Island: what you need to know

Tuesday, 30 October 2018

Seismologist John Ristau says the 6.2 earthquake started with a 'good solid bump' followed by a waving, swaying motion.

A strong earthquake rattled central New Zealand on Tuesday afternoon.

The quake measured 6.2 in magnitude, according to geological monitoring service GeoNet.

Its epicentre was 25km south-west of the town of Taumarunui, on the central North Island, and it struck at a depth of 207km.

Did you feel the earthquake? Do you have photos or video? Email us at newstips @stuff.co.nz

More than 9000 people reported feeling the quake within 10 minutes of it striking at 3.14pm.

Civil Defence has ruled out any tsunami threat to the country, as a result of the shake.

NZ Transport Agency spokeswoman Frances Adank said there were no reports of road closures or or warnings in the South Island.

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Phone services are still running around the country.

Spark spokeswoman Ellie Cross said there was 'no reported impact following the earthquake to Spark personnel, services or property at the moment'.

Vodafone confirmed there had been no impact on its network.

Here's a rundown of what is happening around the country.

TAUMARUNUI

Ruapehu District Council mayor Don Cameron said he was in his office just off the main street of Taumarunui when the quake struck. He didn't feel it.

He said there were no reports of damage in the town.

A worker at Forgotten World Adventures, a tourism operator based in Taumarunui, said no-one had felt it in their office. 'Life has gone on,' she said.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said the power was still on in the town, there had been no fire siren and the internet was still working.

She said it was strange Wellington appeared to be worse affected.

'They're not stoic like us in the King Country. The buildings are like the people,' she said.

Whangamomona Hotel worker Kevin Barrow said the quake was very mild in the tiny town, which is about 90km south of Taumarunui.

An earthquake hits the central North Island.

'It's weird, it must have travelled in a narrow direction, it was mild here. A few paintings on the wall were jiggling around but that was it.'

Large aftershocks from the 6.2-magnitude earthquake near Taumarunui are less likely to be felt due to its depth, GNS Science said.

Mitre 10 Taumarunui owner Kim Wheeler, who's also a Ruapehu District councillor, said he was sitting in the office of his business when the quake struck.

'I didn't really notice it much - there was a bit of a wobble but that's about it. I think it's a storm in a teacup. I've felt worse here than that was.'

Wheeler said nothing had fallen off shelves at his Mitre 10, which is located in the centre of Taumarunui. He'd looked outside and couldn't see any damage.

Seismologist Dr John Ristau said deep earthquakes 'tend not to have aftershock sequences'.

National MP Alfred Ngaro was speaking in Parliament in Wellington when the earthquake occurred.

'Even if you have a few aftershocks, they tend to be much smaller than the main shock, and the energy from such depth dissipates as it moves towards the surface.'

Linda Manda, who lives on a farm about 45 minutes from Taumarunui township, said she was inside her house when the quake hit.

'It was quite scary really. It felt like the Canterbury one, which we felt here. Deep in the country and valley. It was a big shake, we must have almost been right on top of it,' she said.

Sophie Barnes, who lives about 15 kilometres from the quake epicentre in Taumarunui, said she barely felt a thing.

'We basically felt nothing here and we are not far away from it at all,' Barnes said.

'I was sat in the lounge and felt a little wobble and said 'what's that?' and I looked up at the lights and saw them swinging slightly but that's the only thing I could see to tell that we'd had an earthquake.'

WELLINGTON

New Zealand's Parliament has been suspended until further notice on the advice of Civil Defence.

Metlink warned of delays to some Wellington train, bus and ferry services, advising commuters to check the Metlink website or app for up-to-date travel information. By 6.30pm, rail services continued to run with delays of up to 30 minutes.

In the Wellington Metro area, KiwiRail said the first service on each line will travel at a reduced speed as a precaution

Wellington City Council spokeswoman Victoria Barton-Chapple said there had been no reports of damage as yet in the capital.

Wellington Police are not responding to any incidents post-quake.

At Wellington Airport, passengers report that flights have been delayed while the runway is checked.

Wellington Zoo has done a sweep of the grounds in Newtown and have reported all animals were 'doing okay' in a post on social networking site, Twitter.

'The Capybara babies are also doing okay, and when our keepers checked in on them, they were fast asleep, none the wiser,' the post read.

A spokesman for Centreport said the Wellington port was closed temporarily for about 15 minutes to check for any earthquake-related damage. Everything was deemed to be fine and the port reopened shortly thereafter.

Civil Defence Minister Kris Faafoi talks the details on the 6.2 magnitude quake at Parliament.

At the Queensgate Mall in Lower Hutt, one shopper reported screams as everyone ran out of the building. 'Heaps of shops in Queensgate closed straight after and people were standing outside,' the person, who did not wish to be named, said.

MARLBOROUGH

Swimmers were evacuated from the Marlborough Lines Stadium 2000 immediately after the quake.

Staff at the pool ensured all members of the public left safely and closed the doors for the rest of the day to enable crucial safety checks to be carried out, said acting manager Kirsty Mathieson.

There were no reports of any injuries and all swimming classes were cancelled for the remainder of the day.

In Blenheim, the quake was widely felt, with Mark Shaw saying it felt 'terrible' on the third level of the Rangitāne House building.

'It wasn't much fun at all. It went on for ages,' Shaw said.

'I thought it had finished and then boom it hit again.

Fish tank shakes in Wellington when a magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck New Zealand on October 30.

'I've been in some big ones in that building but that felt like the biggest.'

Seddon resident Reuben Tawhara was sitting outside the Cosy Corner Cafe when the earthquake happened. 'I was sitting outside here having a drink, it was a light shake. I was sitting down … It was only a short time, it wasn't very long.

'It wasn't rough rough but enough to feel it.'

Tawhara walked into the cafe and asked the staff if they felt it but they said they didn't because they were too busy.

CHRISTCHURCH

The Christchurch Transport Operations Centre said the quake 'had our building rocking and rolling'.

'The location of the earthquake was certainly not where we expected it must have been,' it said.

No traffic incidents were reported. Power in Canterbury was unaffected.

Fire and Emergency NZ had no reports of injuries nor damage across the South Island.

Dieter Steinegg said everyone in his office in Christchurch's HSBC building (where the now defunct Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority was based) stopped working while the building swayed.

He assumed it was based in the city given how strong the shaking felt.

AUCKLAND

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are currently visiting Auckland, did not feel the 6.2 earthquake.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were at the south Auckland charity Pillars when the quake struck.

Reporters on the scene and in the room with them confirmed they were not aware the quake had struck.

KAIKOURA

Kaikoura man Olly Hill Hughes said the shake was a sharp reminder of the 7.8-magnitude quake which struck the area two years ago.

Parliament was in session when the quake struck, and was subsequently suspended.

Hughes was alone in his living room and described it as a rumble. It wasn't big, but it was surprising, he said.

He immediately put a jacket and shoes on and waited for a few minutes to see if he needed to leave.

'It did bring back memories. I actually started preparing myself for more as it could trigger faults. And because of the rumble I was thinking it would get bigger.

'But at least the royals have had a true Kiwi experience now.'

Deb Smith said while today's shaking did not cause damage to the town, it felt long.

'It was strong as in slow rocking and the odd gentle nudging…the usual knocking and tinkling of hanging charms.'

It served as a reminder to have an evacuation plan in place, an emergency kit and diesel in the car, she said.

TARANAKI

Taranaki Civil Defence emergency management advisor Katie Hogg said they had received no reports of damage.

Hogg said they had put a post on Facebook acknowledging the shake.

'Well that was a bit of a rattle - a M6.2 close to Taumarunui but quite deep,' the post read.

'It went on for a while here in our offices on Robe Street. Hope you are all okay out there.'

The post also reminded people what to do in the event of an earthquake.

'Remember, when you feel an earthquake - drop, cover and hold until the earthquake is over.'

KiwiRail announced that services on the Marton-New Plymouth Line (MNPL) will travel at a restricted speed while further assessments are made.

NELSON

Les Dudley felt the quake in Nelson.

He told Stuff: 'Got an older style home, built in the 40's so sits on piles. Felt like being in a poorly loaded washing machine. House was fairly shaking. And rattling.'

TE KUITI

KiwiRail has temporarily closed a section of the North Island Main Trunk line between Mangaweka and Te Kuiti to allow inspections of the line to take place in the wake of this afternoon's earthquake.

WHANGANUI

No damage was reported in Whanganui's city centre.

Robynne Fellows, from Otaki, was visiting the city when the quake struck.

She told Stuff she initially thought it was strong winds.

'I was sitting in my car and I thought, 'Gosh it's really windy in this town' and my car was rocking and rolling and I thought, 'I didn't realise Whanganui was so gusty'.'

When she received a text from her daughter asking if she was OK, she was confused, she said. Her daughter then informed her there had been an earthquake.

Lisa, 29, a German tourist, said this was the first earthquake she had ever felt.

'The house was shaking. It felt like it was windy, like in a tent, but you're in a house.'