A series of earthquakes struck near Milford Sound on Wednesday evening, the first hitting soon after 6pm.
They began with a 5.5 magnitude quake at 6.13pm, followed by a 5.6 at 6.57pm.
Those two were followed by weaker quakes – 4.8 – at 7.12pm, 4.6 at 7.39pm and 3.8 at 8.05pm.
The first quake hit 40km northeast of Milford Sound. The first two were listed on Geonet as moderate in intensity, while the third and fourth were light and the fifth, weak.
All five were relatively shallow, at five kilometres deep.
Within 10 minutes of the first earthquake, 6000 people had reported feeling it on GeoNet.
Some people on social media described it as a “decent shake”, with one person in Invercargill saying they felt a jerk and swaying.
One person in Alexandra described it as “quite scary”.
“Loud boom here before the shake arrived.”
Another said it was “short and sharp compared to the one a couple of months ago”.
“Loud rumble, cracking noise and windows rattled. Something in the pantry fell to the floor.”
Queenstown Lakes District Council said it would close Edith Cavell Bridge overnight
“As this bridge is a historical asset with heritage status, an inspection is required following earthquakes like the one we just experienced,” it posted on social media.
Traffic from Arthurs Point will need to detour via Malaghans Road in Dalefield, the council said.
“Engineers will inspect the bridge at first light tomorrow morning and we’ll provide a further update when we know more.
“Please also take care around our alpine passes like Crown Range Road as debris caused by the recent earthquake could be possible.”
The area has experienced a few light shakes in recent days, of up to magnitude 3.3.