Thousands of people across the lower North Island and beyond reported feeling a shallow magnitude 4.5 earthquake hit near Wellington this afternoon. The quake struck at around 1.53 pm, about 45 km north-west of Levin, at a shallow depth of roughly 5 km, according to GeoNet seismic data.
Widespread Reports of Shaking
More than 5,000 felt reports came in soon after the tremor, with people feeling shaking as far north as Auckland and as far south as Christchurch. Many described the sensation as a light but noticeable wiggle, with some office workers and residents in Wellington and surrounding areas saying it shook buildings and rattled furniture.
Local Reactions on Social Media
Social media users shared their experiences, with some saying the quake made chairs jolt or glasses rattle. One person in the Wellington CBD described a “significant jolt” while another in Newtown said it briefly unsettled them in a chair.
What This Means for the Region
Quakes of this size are not unusual in New Zealand’s lower North Island, which sits near active fault systems and the broader Pacific “Ring of Fire”. Shallow temblors tend to be felt more strongly at the surface, even if they do not cause damage. Local geological monitoring continues to track seismic activity and will update communities if further significant activity occurs.
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