'Felt' map of a strong magnitude 4.6 quake centred near Ruatoria. Photo: Geonet
A strong magnitude 4.6 quake has struck near Ruatoria in the Gisborne region at a depth of about 8km, Geonet says.
The National Emergency Management Agency has confirmed there is no tsunami threat.
The quake struck just before 1.10pm, within 5km of Ruatoria.
More than 100 people reported immediately feeling it.
A worker at the Four Square store in Ruatoria said there was no damage from the earthquake.
"It was just two to three seconds of it, but we felt it.
"It's not the first one, we had three shakes last night and a shake again today," he said.
GeoNet information shows there has been a spate of weak or light earthquakes, magnitude two or three, in the area in recent days.
It said its a highly seismic area and the activity is completely normal.
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