Quakes have hit around Paraparaumu, Hanmer Springs, Reefton, Hunterville, Waverley, Mt Cook.
The big quake today, which was centred 30km east of Seddon, the site of all the seismic activity in the last couple of days, was 11km deep.
This afternoon's large shake, which struck just after 5pm, followed dozens of aftershocks after this morning's magnitude 5.8 in Cook Strait between Wellington and Seddon at 7.17am.
A magnitude 5.7 quake shook the region on Friday.
Reports of damage around the Wellington region varied from falling masonry and broken windows to water leaks and stock falling from shop shelves.
Glass from broken windows fell onto Lambton Quay and street workers were keeping people away from this buildings in case another quake struck and loosened the glass that was left.
A roof was damaged at Harvey Norman in Paraparaumu and a wall collapsed in Wainuiomata, causing a gas leak.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) said Civil Defence had made an initial assessment that the earthquake was unlikely to have caused a tsunami that would pose a threat to New Zealand.
Wellington Civil Defence duty officer Adrian Glenn said the city's emergency operations centre on Turnbull Street in Thorndon, and The Pavilion on Laings Road in Lower Hutt.
Wellington airport spokesperson Briarley Kirk said navigational equipment appeared to be affected so the runway would be closed until at least 7.15pm.
Domestic and international flights have been affected but the number is not yet known.
Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean said he had received reports of power going off for a time in the suburb of Karori.
"No one's heard of any injuries as of yet. But there's is quite a lot of evacuations going on in various buildings around town . Some buildings, we are aware that there is significant damage to them. But at the moment, the city is pretty much still running.
"Electricity's on, people are still in restaurants and bars... it is not a chaotic situation by any means."
Emergency services were gathering at the regional emergency management office in Thorndon.
"We're getting reports of damage coming in," Mr MacLean said.
"We're obviously working with the fire service and the police. They're the ones who are going to be giving us a lot of the information.
"We're getting lots of reports of stuff coming off shelves, structural damage of buildings."
A Fire Service spokeswoman said nearly 50 calls were received to the central communications centre in the half hour after the earthquake.
All 12 Wellington appliances were sent out on jobs, with a backlog starting to pile up by 5.45pm.
She said there were multiple alarm activations in central Wellington with widespread reports of structural damage.
St John Ambulance did not attend any jobs related to the earthquake, a spokesman said.
There had been no admissions to Wellington Hospital as a result, a Capital and Coast District Health Board spokeswoman said.
There were cordons around Wellington's central library after a water leak.
Wellington city council director of property and housing Greg Orchard said connection between the library and Wellington City Council building had been cordoned off for safety reasons.
Mr Orchard said cracks have appeared either side of the two-level connecting structure. The structure is unsupported from below, sitting in between buildings.
Water is leaking from the structure but the source of the leak had yet to be determined.
An engineer had been called in but he would inevitably be very busy, Mr Orchard said.
Office worker Alice Midgley was on the 13th floor of the Fujitsu building when the quake struck.
"I was under the desk, that was the first time I was frightened," she said.
April Ferrino from Austin, Texas, was in a fifth-floor apartment on Lambton Quay.
"I'm from Austin, Texas so we're used to other natural disasters - tornadoes, hurricanes. Earthquakes are extremely terrifying because you can't predict them," she said.
"Things started falling off the shelves. It was terrifying."
"I felt the first tremor this morning which was a slow rumbling.....but this one was a jolt. It was extremely terrifying."
She left her building when it happened and said she would go back up to pack a bag in case there was another big one and she had to leave.
Steve Mabin was on the 11th floor of the Prudential Building on Lambton Quay.
"I was sleeping so all I heard was smashing happening so I ran to the door. I just saw the door swaying so I ran for my life [downstairs]. That's a lot of stairs to run down."
Residents in homes perched on the hills around the capital were also shaken.
on the "That's the worst quake I've ever felt," said resident Sarah Bennett.
Ms Bennett and her husband Lee Slater, whose Highbury house is built on the side of a hill, said it was swaying on its piles.
"You usually only get a bit of a jiggle but this was a hula dance," Ms Bennett said.
Mr Slater said he was in shock.
the quake was also widely felt elsewhere.
Deborah Parsons, who lives in Blenheim, felt the quake and said it was scary.
The contents of her china cabinet had smashed on the floor.
"I'm getting the emergency kit ready and I'm packing up what's left of the china," she said.
New Plymouth resident, Michael Riley, told the Herald that "everything was moving" in his Taranaki home.
"There was 20 seconds of shaking, everything in the room was moving," he said. "I went outside and still all the power lines were shaking and it was just chaos, it was quite scary. It was the biggest earthquake I have ever felt."
Andrew Feldon said: "Felt it here in Hastings! Kept going for ages - was watching the trees outside the window swaying."
Social media users were quick to report their experiences of the quake.
"Felt in Te Awamutu," said one Twitter user. "Trees were rocking and hanging plants swaying - felt seasick."
Another said: "They are coming in on waves"
All suburban trains on Wellington's rail network have been cancelled until further notice.
In a statement on Tranz Metro's website, the company said bus services were being arranged, but would be limited.
"Customers are advised to make alternative travel arrangements and only travel if necessary.
"Tranz Metro apologises for the inconvenience and we thank you for your patience."
An earlier quake had forced the temporary closure of the network this morning with some services resuming.
Meanwhile, some flights have resumed at Wellington Airport, Ms Kirk said.
"While we still are investigating our navigational equipment, aircrafts can use other forms of navigational equipment so they are stil departing and arriving in."
