Aftershock hits near Levin

The lower North Island experienced a magnitude 4.7 quake late on Saturday night.

Centred 30km northwest of Levin, the quake struck 36km deep - the exact same spot as Monday's magnitude 5.8 tremor - at 10:56pm.

Twelve people reported the shaking in this latest quake as 'extreme' on the GeoNet website, out of a total 11,172 reports. 

It was followed by two aftershocks, both measuring 3.4, at 11:03pm and 11:50pm. 

GNS Science duty seismologist Dr Jonathan Hanson told Newshub on Wednesday the earthquakes are the result of collisions between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates.

"This creates stresses in the Earth's upper crust, manifested by the many active faults in New Zealand. The Pacific plate is moving westward by about 45mm a year, and this builds up stresses at the interface between the two plates. The resulting stresses are relieved by occasional quakes in the many faults in the upper crust. "

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was speaking to The AM Show live from Parliament when the Monday quake struck.