Three earthquakes that struck within seven minutes of one another jolted the bottom of the North Island this morning.
GeoNet recorded all three earthquakes within 15km of Levin as “light”, ranging between 2.8 and 4.1 in magnitude.
The first two hit simultaneously at 7.25am, and the third followed seven minutes later at 7.32am.
More than 2600 people were reported to have felt the first two quakes, while 955 people reported feeling the third.
On a Facebook post from GeoNet one user said: “at first [I] thought it was thunder – it was so loud”.
Another claimed to have felt it in Christchurch, and one commentor said they felt it in Palmerston North along with the “proceeding boom with it too!”
GeoNet reminded people on social media that “earthquakes can occur anywhere in New Zealand at any time” and in the event of a large earthquake to drop, cover, and hold.