UPDATED 12.18PM: A “hell of a jolt” has rumbled the Wellington region.
A 4.4 magnitude earthquake hit the area just before 12pm, according to GeoNet.
It was 53km deep, and 25km north-west of Wellington.
A police communications spokesperson said the earthquake built up slowly then had a big shake at the end.
“It gave us a real jolt.”
“It was a weird one. It was really, really slow then did one big jolt then it was over in fifteen-twenty seconds.”
Fire and ambulance services reported no callouts in the immediate aftermath of the Wellington quake.
"It was a decent old shake but it didn't last long and we are not aware of any major damage or injuries at this time," a fire service spokesman said.
One Twitter user said: “That was a hell of a jolt in Wellington #eqnz.”
More than 4080 people have told GeoNet that they have felt the earthquake.
Reports have come from as far away as Auckland, Canterbury, Central Otago and Southand.
More to come.
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