Earthquake felt by 1000 people in New Zealand
A shallow 4.4 magnitude earthquake has been felt by more than 1000 New Zealanders.
The quake hit at 12.51pm local time 35km west of Ohakune, a small town in the North Island, situated 215 kilometres north of Wellington and 292 kilometres south of Auckland.
A total of 1018 people have reported feeling the quake on the GeoNet website, with 42 measuring at moderate on the 'felt summary report'.
One person reported feeling it in Wellington while another, bizarrely, reported feeling it as far away as Christchurch.
The epicentre for the earthquake was close to Mount Ruapehu which is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone.
