A magnitude 4.8 earthquake rattled the top of the South Island and the lower North Island last night.
Geonet said the tremor struck 10km south of French Pass at around 11.31pm on Saturday at a depth of 51km.
The shaking, described as “moderate”, was reported by nearly 7500 people.
It was felt widely across the Taranaki, Wellington, and Nelson-Tasman regions.
NZ Civil Defence said earthquakes were a “good reminder to stay preapred”.
“Drop, Cover, and Hold remains the right action to take during an earthquake. If you’ve already headed to bed for the evening, remember to Stay, Cover, and Hold.”
A 3.1 magnitude earthquake with a depth of 9km was also felt widely across Christchurch and north Canterbury on Saturday.
The quake, centred in Papanui, struck at 10.30pm and was classified as light by Geonet.
Within 15 minutes, there had been nearly three and a half thousand reports of the tremor.
