More than 2180 people have reported feeling the tremor, with many saying they were jolted awake because of it.
“Woke me up in Palmerston North,” one person said.
“Woke me up and I was too tired to react much,” another said.
Another person near the quake’s epicentre in Pongaroa said they felt it but there was “no damage”.
“That wasn’t nice,” a Pongaroa resident said.
“Alright, which one of you rolled out of bed after eating three different Christmas meals yesterday?” Civil Defence Manawatū Whanganui jokingly posted.
“Quakes like this one are always a good reminder to Drop, Cover and Hold when the ground starts shaking.”
It comes just a few weeks after another 4.8-magnitude jolt was felt in the area.
There were four aftershocks in quick succession on December 4, including one light, two weak, and then another moderate quake of 4.4-magnitude at 12.17pm, GeoNet reported.
In August, a 4.9 earthquake struck nearby, about 20km south of Hastings.
GeoNet reported the quake, which hit at a depth of 30km, caused “moderate” shaking.
What to do if you’re woken up by a quake
Hawke’s Bay Emergency Management director Shane Briggs said staying in bed during a quake that wakes you had been official advice for some time.
“People are far more likely to be injured if they get up and move around during an earthquake. Research using ACC injury data from the 2016 Kaikōura–Hurunui earthquake supports this.
“Research consistently shows that ‘drop, cover, and hold’ is the best way to stay safe in earthquakes in New Zealand – and if you’re in bed, that becomes ‘stay, cover, and hold’.”
Briggs said the advice was the same regardless of building type, and moving towards a doorway was no longer recommended.
“Doors can swing violently, striking people or trapping fingers.
“This older advice came from a time when buildings were constructed differently, and door frames were often the strongest part of a structure.
“Modern buildings are designed differently, and that’s no longer the case.”
Once the shaking stops, people should get up if it was long and strong and they were in the blue tsunami evacuation zone, he said.