A strong quake measuring 5.0 has shaken Taranaki this morning.
The earthquake was centred 10km north of Opunake and was felt throughout central New Zealand.
More than 2000 people from Hamilton to Nelson have indicated they felt the tremor.
Geonet described it as "strong".
It struck just before 6am and was 16km deep.
Civil Defence said it was not aware of any damage following the early morning quake.
Taranaki residents described a terrifying noise preceding 30 seconds of shaking.
Many were jolted out of beds by the quake as homes groaned and swayed violently.
Kay Saunders posted on Facebook her dogs took off outside as they heard the quake approach. It was followed by a rumbling and a sharp jolt.
Okato resident Sarah Cash posted: "Everything was rocking in Okato, was the biggest I've felt for awhile!"
"I normally never feel them but that one I felt. I'm just in Warea outside of Okato. Scared the poop out of me. Think I even let out a little scream of fright," Christina Anne Pennington wrote on Facebook.
