A magnitude-4.3 earthquake has rattled the lower North Island - the biggest of dozens of aftershocks so far after a 5.8-magnitude quake near Levin on Monday morning.
The epicentre of the aftershock, which was felt by thousands of Kiwis, was about 30km northwest of Levin - the same location as the first quake, which struck at 7:55am.
It struck at a depth of 30km and was reported to have occurred at 12:38pm, New Zealand's seismic monitoring agency GeoNet reports.
Thousands of people have reported feeling the quake on GeoNet's website, although the vast majority described the shaking as "light" or "weak" in its intensity.
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was interrupted by the earthquake during a live-cross with The AM Show. She had just started her interview with Ryan Bridge when the Beehive began to shake.
People as far south as Dunedin reported feeling the quake, with many across the country saying it rattled their homes.
Nearly 40,000 people reported feeling the original earthquake, which was 34km-deep.
"What happens with deeper earthquakes is they tend to actually be quite widely felt," GeoNet seismologist John Ristau told Newshub. "Shallow earthquakes are felt very strongly but very close to the epicentre."
Earlier, train services were suspended across Wellington while tracks were inspected, while Wellington Airport checked its runway immediately after the quake. No issues were detected with either.
