Thousands have felt a mid-afternoon jolt near Christchurch.
GeoNet advises that at 3:19pm on Saturday, a magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 5km south of Christchurch at a depth of only 5km. It was described as "light" by GeoNet.
Within minutes, the website showed more than 4500 reports of the quake. Most of the reports were from areas near Christchurch, with a handful further north near Marlborough and Nelson. Some even reported feeling it in Auckland.
"Woah! Anyone else feel that thumper?" said one person on social media.
"That was a heart pounder," said another.
Many said on Twitter that they heard it more than they felt it.
"Really heard that coming and noisy rattle. Port Hills?" one user said.
"Ah, heard that one coming maybe a second before it hits. Bit of a jolt in Riccarton, Christchurch" another added.
