A magnitude 4.4 earthquake has occurred at 7:45pm, 25km west of Gisborne at a depth of 22km.
Initially reported at a magnitude of 4.2, the earthquake's strength has since been upgraded on GeoNet's website.
Over 1100 people have reported feeling the earthquake, with the majority describing it as weak or light.
However, one person on Twitter who felt the earthquake said it was "one of the strongest we had in a long time. House was properly swaying".
The quake comes as the upper North Island begins to feel the full force of Cyclone Gabrielle, leading some to comment on the bad luck New Zealand is experiencing at the moment.
"Talk about insult to injury," said one person on Twitter.
"One disaster's enough, chill out earth," said another.
One Twitter user said, "Ehhh c'mon not now papatūānuku".
