Wellington: An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale jolted central New Zealand on Thursday evening, according to New Zealand’s geoscience research service provider.
More than 44,000 people reported feeling the quake and there are no reports of casualties or structural damages so far, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
It struck at 21:07 local time (0907 GMT) 30 km northeast of French Pass at a depth of 51 km, said the GNS Science, which called it a “strong earthquake”.
The tremor was felt in Wellington and throughout central New Zealand.