Photo: Supplied / Geonet
A 4magnitude 4.7 earthquake has struck the lower North Island.
GeoNet said the quake struck 5km north-east of Upper Hutt at a depth of 20km.
More than 8000 people had already reported feeling it shortly after it struck at 5.18am.
By 5.35am, more than 11,000 people had reported it.
GeoNet defined the the amount of shaking as "moderate".
People have reported feeling it as far away as Wanaka in the South Island and Auckland in the north.
An early shake awake for those in the lower North Island this morning with a M4.7 earthquake 5km north of Upper Hutt. The moderate quake was 23km deep and we received over 10,000 felt reports. https://t.co/bjAqeagYKn pic.twitter.com/RWtUmv7FTt
— GeoNet (@geonet) February 28, 2024
The majority of people have reported the shaking as "light".
A number of people commented on GeoNet's Facebook page to say the quake had woken them up.
"That was me leaping to kick start the leap year," one person said.
"We live in Upper Hutt , it was loud and strong, and we heard a boom for the [second] one but didn't feel it," another said.
