One person said it was the \u201cworst l ever felt in my 78 years\u201d, while another wrote: \u201cMight have been the longest and strongest I\u2019ve ever experienced\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could hear the massive rumble before the shaking. Was scary,\u201d one person wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas like a bomb the floor in my shed jumped upwards then the shaking started … I thought the mountain woke up,\u201d another wrote.<\/p>\n
Others reported household items falling or breaking.<\/p>\n
One described the shaking as \u201cviolent\u201d and said it had \u201csmashed stuff\u201d, while another reported: \u201cthings crashed and broke at our place\u201d.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been felt as far north as Waihi and the North Shore with people taking to social media to describe feeling small jolts.<\/p>\n
Taranaki Civil Defence said it was a \u201ctimely reminder earthquakes can happen at any time, including when most of us would rather be asleep\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe tomorrow is a good day to check the batteries in the torch, check dates on any emergency supplies and have a quick chat with the household about what you\u2019d do in a bigger one.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fire and Emergency New Zealand central communications shift manager confirmed to the Herald at 6am that no emergency calls relating to the earthquake had been received.<\/p>\n
On September 5, a magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 30km northwest of Paraparaumu at 6.30am.<\/p>\n
24 hours later a magnitude 4.2 earthquake hit 5km north of \u014cpunake.<\/p>\n
A 4.8 magnitude quake also struck the Tasman Sea, 70km southwest of the small town of Waverley, on September 15 just before 11am.<\/a><\/p>\n