New Zealand is rocked by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake before a 4.5 aftershock
- New Zealand hit with a 5.2 magnitude earthquake before large aftershock
- Aftershock was recorded to be 4.5 and both felt as far away as Wellington
- More than 4000 'felt reports' have been recorded with GeoNet
A 5.2 magnitude earthquake has struck New Zealand's central North Island, before a 4.5 aftershock.
Locals reported buildings shaking when the first tremor struck just after 7pm local time on Wednesday.
The second followed minutes later at a depth of five kilometres, with both centred just north-east of Turangi, under Lake Taupo.
The shakes were felt as far away as Wellington and 400 felt reports have already been recorded on the GeoNet website.
They were felt across the North Island including in Hamilton, Hastings, Murupara, Cambridge, Dannevirke and Fielding.
A 5.2 magnitude earthquake has struck New Zealand 's central North Island, before a 4.5 aftershock
There have been 180 earthquakes recorded in the area in the last week according to data from GeoNet.
Volcano Duty Officer Steven Sherburn said it wasn't uncommon for the area to receive this type of activity.
'We see activity like this at Taupo on a fairly regular basis. Quake swarms are common in the Taupo Volcanic Zone and several are recorded each year,' Mr Sherburn said.
'Larger ones have lasted weeks-to-months and have included many hundreds of earthquakes.
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'In terms of quakes under the lake, this number of quakes isn't unprecedented. In the last year we've registered over 1,000 quakes in the lake area'
A spokesperson for GeoNet released a statement to residents shortly after the first earthquake.
'Firstly, there are no indications that this is related to volcanic activity. It is in an area where earthquakes are not unusual and in fact these are likely to be part of a swarm we reported in July,' the statement read.
'We do want to give you a heads up that there maybe aftershocks through the night.'
The second followed minutes later at a depth of five kilometres, with both centred just north-east of Turangi, under Lake Taupo (pictured)
A number of residents took to the social media pages of local emergency crews to share their experiences.
'In Ohakune felt a slight sway!' one wrote.
'Felt it up here in Tihiroa just north of Otorohanga,' another replied.
'Was quite scary. Never felt one that big before here in Turangi. Past tremors have been light to moderate,' another added.
A third 'weak' shaking was felt 10km north-east of Turangi at 7.42pm local time
According to GeoNet the most likely scenario for the swarm is the quakes will die down.
“Currently, there are no indications that the earthquakes are related to potential volcanic activity, or that the volcano is showing any signs of unrest,' Mr Sherburn said.
'Taupo is not the kind of volcano that could erupt without warning.
It could have years of unrest and still not erupt. We know that it will erupt again sometime in the future, but right now there is nothing to worry about.'
