The Taupō mayor says a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that struck late on Wednesday could've been a lot worse for the town.
The quake was felt by thousands of people across the country. A surge of water from the quake - thought to be a mini tsunami - left a trail of debris and capsized boats in its wake.
One person told Newshub they were "absolutely scared".
Another said: "It was horrendous. I was lying in bed and the whole bed went up and down and moved."
A third person said: "It's the biggest one I've felt."
Giant chess pieces were toppled, cracks appeared in the ground and bricks broke loose.
A line of debris showed Taupō's temporary new shoreline after the quake caused a late-night surge in the lake.
"There appears to have been some type of tsunami, or what we might call a seiche, which is when the water sloshes back and forth like in a bathtub," GNS seismic duty officer John Ristau said.
Among the debris were capsized boats that were damaged in the quake and even creatures from the water washed ashore.
Taupō's Mayor David Trewavas surveyed the damage.
"It could have been a lot worse, no doubt. The surge has obviously come up from Horomatangi Reef, straight over that point, and come just like a tsunami."
He said the residents understood the risk: "We live in a volcanic zone, don't we?"
The earthquake was felt from as far south as Nelson to as far north as Whangārei.
According to GeoNet, it was felt by more than 5000 people at around midnight and aftershocks continued throughout the day.
"Statistically, the most likely time to have an even bigger earthquake is immediately after the earthquake you've just had and then those probabilities drop down quite a bit," Ristau said.
While the worst is thought to be over for Taupō now, the clean-up begins.
