A magnitude 5.4 earthquake northwest off the coast of Paraparaumu has broken a GeoNet record for the most "felt reports" the agency has received.
The shake occurred yesterday at 11.45pm and was felt by more than 26,500 people from Christchurch to Auckland.
It was the second earthquake recorded off the west coast of the North Island last night.
Just a few hours earlier a magnitude 4.7 earthquake with a 50km depth struck in the same area and was felt by more than 3700 people.
The 5.4 earthquake is now the record holder for the most "felt reports" GeoNet has ever received for a quake.
The previous record holder was the disastrous 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, when GeoNet received 15,840 felt reports.
During the 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake more than 20 faults were activated - 14 of which ruptured violently enough to displace land by more than a metre.
