A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 35km south-west of the King Country town of Taumarunui on Friday morning at 10:58am.
The quake was 207km deep and the shaking was light close to it, reports GeoNet, scaling the magnitude up after initially labelling it 5.4.
Ruapehu Civil Defence says there are no reports of damage.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was speaking to media about updates to New Zealand's COVID-19 pandemic response when the quake struck.
Video of the moment shows her getting a fright before smiling at a journalist and asking them to repeat their question due to a "slight distraction".
"A decent shake just now felt across the North Island and upper South Island, with a M5.9 earthquake occurring 210km below the King Country. We have received over 25,000 felt reports," said GeoNet.
"These deep earthquakes are typically widely felt, but usually not close to the epicentre. This is due to the subducting tectonic plate under the North Island - most of the earthquake's energy travels up and along the plate to the surface.
"Large, deep earthquakes beneath the central and western North Island are not uncommon."
The quake is said to have caused "light shaking", however some Twitter users claim to have felt strong shakes.
"Felt long in Palmy too. Def that weird rolling sensation similar to the Kaikoura quake. So unsettling," said one.
"It went on AGES! Over 30 seconds. Could tell from fish tanks sloshing & clothes swaying on rack. Also, ME moving with chair," added another.
"Wouldn't call that light at all in Napier," tweeted a third.
Within 20 minutes, over 24,000 people had reported feeling the quake to GeoNet. Of those reports, 24 were labelled "extreme" - the highest available.
Reports were recorded as north as Whangarei and as south as Invercargill.
Although the quake struck the central North Island, the majority of the reports of people feeling it are in the lower North Island.
