Key Points
- Severe shaking has been felt across New Zealand's North Island after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake.
- More than 24,000 people reported they felt the earthquake, along with a series of aftershocks.
- New Zealand's national emergency agency confirmed there is no tsunami threat.
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake, followed by a magnitude 5.4 aftershock, struck the North Island of New Zealand on Wednesday morning.
Hazard monitoring platform GeoNet said the first earthquake occurred at 8:16am (AEST) and was 22km deep, with both widely felt across the North Island including Wellington and Auckland.
Multiple smaller aftershocks were experienced following the two major quakes.
The earthquake struck 5km off Pōrangahau, on the North Island, but there is no tsunami threat.
More than 24,000 people reported they felt movement on GeoNet in the past hour, with 9,527 people stating it was light.
More than 1,000 people stated it was strong, with 36 reporting that it was severe.
"We hope everyone is feeling okay," New Zealand's National Emergency Management agency wrote on Twitter.
Authorities have advised people to move to higher ground if they feel shaking that is long or strong.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
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