An earthquake measuring 6.3 has hit central New Zealand, rattling Wellington and Christchurch.
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The quake, centred in the Nelson region, occurred at a depth of 80 kilometres, 45 kilometres east of the village of St Arnaud, on the north of the South Island, at 3.36pm, said GeoNet, which provides geological hazard information for New Zealand.
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake was registered in a similar location at a depth of 69 kilometres at 3.46pm, followed by a 4.1 quake, 76 kilometres deep, at 3.53pm.
On Thursday, a magnitude 4.4 at 10.36am, followed by a 5.1 at 10.42am, were centred just east of Seddon - also located in the upper South Island.
St Arnaud Alpine Store owner Sandy Pearce said the shock was "very, very frightening" and she and her three customers ran out of the shop.
She said "pretty much" all the stock at the front of the store's shelves fell off.
"It started shaking and we just waited. It became very violent, so we ran outside. One lady was in her car getting fuel and she felt it very strongly. We will just wait. I dare say we will get another."
Ms Pearce said the building could be heard creaking.
St Arnaud Alpine Lodge receptionist Imelda Brandauer said the quake was intense.
"It was quite amazing. We've never felt it like that before."
She said she was not sure if they should go out of the building.
"The whole building was shaking."
She said the hotel was not full as it was not peak season.
She said some bottles in the walk-in storage cooler had fallen off shelves and broken, but that was the extent of damage.
"Everyone was just running upstairs to make sure [the guests] were OK."
There were reports of problems on the mobile networks.
Heather Waters in Richmond said she was still shaking. "It was huge. It was as big as the one we had 44 years ago."
Courtney O'Hagan in Nelson said she "almost lost my TV".
"Everything shook and went for ages."
Wendy Molloy said she felt it at Tarakohe Wharf at Pohara in Golden Bay and it was "pretty scary".
In Kaikoura, Anita Terwin, duty manager at the Whaler Bar and Restaurant, said it was "very sharp and very quick".
"It was very spooky. It gave me a hell of a fright," she said.
Things had fallen off the shelves in the kitchen, but the bar had sustained no major damage.
Ms Terwin said it brought up memories of the September and February earthquakes in her hometown of Christchurch.
"There was a lot of shaking and rolling. I'm still shaking."
Wellingtonians said it was big and lasted for a long time.
Stuff.co.nz
