Wellington: A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck New Zealand's North Island on Tuesday, prompting the suspension of Parliament.
Residents across the capital Wellington and in the city of New Plymouth were rattled by the 227km-deep tremor.
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| Map shows where there were reports of shaking after the 6.1 magnitude earthquake |
It was centred 25km south-west of Taumarunui, about half way between Auckland and Wellington, and described as strong, according to GeoNet.
New Zealand's Parliament, sitting at the time, was suspended after the prolonged rumble to allow for the precinct's buildings to be checked.
Tens of thousands of people across the centre of the country have reported feeling the shaking.
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Fire and Emergency New Zealand said there had been no reports of damage and there is no tsunami risk, according to civil defence.
The quake was initially put at a magnitude of 6.2.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan had engagements on Tuesday in Auckland where some people said they did feel shaking.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were at the south Auckland charity Pillars when the quake struck.
Reporters on the scene and in the room with them confirmed they were not aware the earthquake had struck.
The suspension of New Zealand's parliament has since been lifted and members have been recalled to the chamber.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed the earthquake and asked residents to check on neighbours.
Ruapehu District Council mayor Don Cameron said he was in his office just off the main street of Taumarunui when the quake struck. He said he didn’t feel it.
“Mind you I’ve got nothing in the office that would rock,” he said.
Mr Cameron said there were no reports of damage.
The quake seemed to have been more keenly felt in places like Whanganui.
Tens of thousands of people across the centre of the country have reported feeling the shaking.
The quake was felt as far as the South Island.
Stephanie Ham was parked outside Marlborough Boys' College, in Blenheim, when the quake hit.
"The car was rolling around and I thought my son had come up and shaken the car," Ham said.
"All the boys were walking around and none of them felt it but the people parked in front of us got out and were quite scared and were looking up at the power lines."To those who felt the quake - GNS have confirmed their assessment that it was M6.2 and 25km SW of Taumarunui. Widely felt across central NZ. Grabbing updates from officials but in the meantime, do check on those around you!
— Jacinda Ardern (@jacindaardern) October 30, 2018
"We haven't had anything as strong as a 6 [magnitude] for a while," Ham said.
While the epicentre was close to Taumarunui, the nature of such deep earthquakes meant their effects spread far more widely, Seismologist Dr John Ristau from GNS Science told Stuff.
"So if you look at the 'felt reports' around that epicentre, there's hardly any. Instead they are farther away and most of them were in Wellington and Christchurch.
"In these deep quakes, it takes a while for all the energy released to get up to the surface. By the time it does, it has already spread a fair distance from the quake's location.
Dr Ristau said deep earthquakes "tend not to have aftershock sequences".
"Even if you have a few aftershocks, they tend to be much smaller than the main shock, and the energy from such depth dissipates as it moves towards the surface."
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