Magnitude 4 earthquake strikes near central North Island town of Taumarunui

A magnitude 4 earthquake has struck 45km south-west of Taumarunui on Saturday evening.

The central North Island quake hit at a depth of 18km at 7:40pm and caused "weak" shaking, GeoNet reports.

So far the quake has over 1200 felt reports, with 426 describing it as 'light', 29 as 'moderate' and three as 'strong'. Just one person has described it as 'strong'.