Kiwis duck and cover as magnitude 6.2 earthquake hits central New Zealand

Tuesday, 30 October 2018

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

People across the country ran for cover as a magnitude 6.2 quake hit the country on Tuesday afternoon.

The quake's depth was 207 km and it took place 25 km south-west of Taumarunui.

There have been more than 15,000 felt reports on Geonet.

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

Kiwis quickly shared video and pictures of their experiences during the quake online.

An earthquake hits the central North Island.

* New Zealand quake hits North and South Island

* What you need to know about Tuesday's earthquake

* Animation shows size of NZ earthquake

* Why Taumarunui dodged the earthquake only 25km away

School pupils ducked for cover during the quake.

* In pictures and video: NZ's earthquake

* Large aftershocks less likely due to quake depth

* The moment Parliament was hit by the earthquake

* Prince Harry, Meghan Markle unaffected by quake

* Zoo animals barely bat an eyelid during quake**

Twitter user LVG NZ shared a video of school students ducking under their desks during the quake.

Who else felt the one just now??? Hope the others in the video don't mind 😂😂😂#eqnz pic.twitter.com/Qednpe3iI5

— LVG NZ (@NzLvg) October 30, 2018

'Who else felt the one just now?' they asked.

'This was taken at Paraparaumu College in Kapiti. My maths class, literally only 30 seconds after the bell,' they wrote online.

'On The Terrace in Wellington, I just experienced the biggest one ever and wondering if it is safe to remain on the 10th floor of a building,' wrote Twitter user Kiran Challa.

'People around me paused for a bit and started their conversations as if nothing happened,' they continued.

'I was sat at the traffic lights when the car started shaking back and forth. Was thinking wow the wind is weirdly strong today even for Welly but nope turned out to be an actual earthquake! Hope everyone else is okay! Stay safe!' Twitter user Jessgc95 wrote online.

I was sat at the traffic lights when the car started shaking back and forth. Was thinking wow the wind is weirdly strong today even for Welly but nope turned out to be an actual earthquake! Hope everyone else is okay! Stay safe! #eqnz

— Jess (@Jessgc95) October 30, 2018

Members of Parliament felt the earthquake as well.

Finance Minister and Labour MP Grant Robertson called the quake 'a biggie', while MP Deborah Russell said the quake 'seemed to go on forever'.

That seemed to go on forever! First one for me on the 15th floor of Bowen House. #eqnz

— Deborah Russell MP (@BeeFaerie) October 30, 2018

Yep that was a biggie. Hope everyone ok out there. #eqnz #DropCoverHold

— Grant Robertson (@grantrobertson1) October 30, 2018