Photo: GeoNet
An earthquake struck Wellington on Thursday evening.
GeoNet said the moderate 4.9 magnitude quake struck at 9.09pm and was centred 25km west of Wellington at a depth of 22km.
The earthquake was initially recorded as a magnitude 5.1 but has since been downgraded by GeoNet.
Almost 30,000 people reported feeling the tremor.
A M4.9 earthquake with moderate shaking has occurred in the Cook Strait at 9:09 pm tonight. It was 22 km deep and widely felt through central New Zealand and we have received over 30,000 felt reports.
— GeoNet (@geonet) November 6, 2025
Another reminder that earthquakes can occur anywhere in New Zealand at any time pic.twitter.com/xtKzAlUkoN
Several people said they heard the earthquake before feeling it, while others received phone alerts moments before the city centre building they were in began shaking.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand said that there had been no callouts as a result of the quake.
The phone alert sent to some users. Photo: Supplied
Metlink has advised that there is a 40km/h speed restriction on all lines until further notice as a result of the quake and that commuters can expect delays.
A magnitude 3.5 aftershock struck at 10:28pm, 20km north-west of Wellington, at a depth of 25km. More than 1500 people reported feeling the shake on GeoNet.
One person told RNZ the initial shaking "had me seeking the strongest doorway ... then it was over!"
Another person said they were attending the Nutcracker ballet at St James theatre when the quake struck: "Loud and heavy shake but no one missed a beat."
Someone attending the Cowboy Junkies concert said they felt it over at the Opera House: "There was one jolt as if someone had shaken the row of seats quite hard. The building handled it really well. Great concert."
Someone else said it felt pretty big in Paekakariki, while someone in Wellington said "the earthquake wasn't very big so we're all good".
"Shopping in Woolworths supermarket in Johnsonville, Wellington ... felt the quake at 9:10pm-ish!"
GNS spokesperson Elisabetta D'Anastasio said those in the capital would have felt moderate shaking, and people from the top of the South and lower North islands have also reported feeling the quake.
She said aftershocks were possible overnight.
D'Anastasio told RNZ's Nights that the quake was at a depth of 22km and in the middle of Cook Strait.
How strongly people felt a quake depended how close they were to its epicentre, what type of ground they lived on - for example, shaking would be felt more strongly in a sandy place than a rocky place - what type of building they were in (with those on higher storeys likely to feel it more) and personal sensitivity, she said.
New Zealanders had to be prepared for quakes because they lived on a very shaky island, she said.
"We recorded about 20 events of magnitude four and five just in the last year in that same region."
People should drop, cover and hold if they felt an earthquake, or if you were in bed you were best to stay there and perhaps grab your pillow to protect your head, she said.
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