A magnitude 4.4 earthquake has rattled the top of the South Island and the lower North Island.

GeoNet has described it as moderate, with 1500 people reporting the quake soon after it struck.

The quake struck 15km east of Seddon, at a depth of 9km, at 12.35pm.

People reporting the earthquake are mainly around the Marlborough and Wellington areas.

Previous Seddon quakes

Just last year, a strong 4.8 magnitude quake shook 10km south of Seddon.

The quake was labelled as “strong”, and was 9km deep.

“It felt quite wobbly, long and rolly,” said one Wellingtonian about the March 2025 shake.

On August 16, 2013, an 8km deep magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck just offshore from Seddon.

It caused significant damage to houses and infrastructure and sent Wellington workers running into the streets as the ground shook and buildings swayed.

Another quake on July 21, 2013, which was 13km deep, magnitude 6.5 and centred in the Cook Strait, caused damage to several homes in Seddon and several buildings in the Wellington CBD, with glass from broken windows falling onto Lambton Quay.