An earthquake has shaken the middle of the country this morning, with thousands of people feeling the tremor.

The 5.4 magnitude quake hit south of New Plymouth about 8.30am, at a depth of 107km.

One Facebook user described it as a “huge wobble in New Plymouth”, while others said it was so light they weren’t sure it was an earthquake.

More than 14,000 people have reported feeling the shake on GeoNet.

“Decent little shake,” wrote one person on X.

“Nice sharp shake,” wrote another.

In Wellington, the earthquake began as a low, subtle shake that grew in strength, lasting roughly 20 seconds.

“I heard it coming! Hate them!” said a Levin resident on Facebook.

“Only just at my house in Bulls, felt like a big truck going past,” said another.

A resident of Waitarere, north of Levin, said there was “lots of noise for a while, then a big wobble”.

Meanwhile, a Wellingtonian said it was “so small I thought it was vertigo”.

They weren’t even sure an earthquake had happened until they checked online, they said.

One woman in Horowhenua said her china cabinet and pictures began rattling first.

“Only then the wave came, and ended with a big jolt,” she wrote, saying it got her heart going as she enjoyed a “morning cuppa”.

Another person in Pātea, near the epicentre, said the house “jumped”.

A woman in Inglewood said the quake “wriggled along the hallway like a wet dog”.

“Whole house groaned. Woke the cat. I’m pleased I was sitting down,” she said.

The shake comes two weeks after another tremor that rumbled the lower North Island.

The 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit on Boxing Day near Pongaroa, in the Tararua district.

It was measured at 17km deep, with the shaking initially described as moderate. It was revised an hour later to strong.

The quake was widely felt from Wellington to Whanganui.

“Alright, which one of you rolled out of bed after eating three different Christmas meals yesterday?” Civil Defence Manawatū Whanganui jokingly posted at the time.

“Quakes like this one are always a good reminder to drop, cover and hold when the ground starts shaking.”

What to do if you’re woken up by a quake

Hawke’s Bay Emergency Management director Shane Briggs said staying in bed during a quake that wakes you had been official advice for some time.

“People are far more likely to be injured if they get up and move around during an earthquake. Research using ACC injury data from the 2016 Kaikōura–Hurunui earthquake supports this.

“Research consistently shows that ‘drop, cover, and hold’ is the best way to stay safe in earthquakes in New Zealand – and if you’re in bed, that becomes ‘stay, cover, and hold’.”

Briggs said the advice was the same regardless of building type, and moving towards a doorway was no longer recommended.

“Doors can swing violently, striking people or trapping fingers.

“This older advice came from a time when buildings were constructed differently, and door frames were often the strongest part of a structure.

“Modern buildings are designed differently, and that’s no longer the case.”

Once the shaking stops, people should get up if it was long and strong and they were in the blue tsunami evacuation zone, he said.