Strong 4.8 quake near Te Aroha rattles North Island

Thousands of people in the central North Island reported feeling the 4.8 magnitude quake.
Photo: Geonet

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake near Te Aroha shook the central North Island overnight.

Geonet reports the quake at 2.02am was centred 5km south of Te Aroha and was 6km deep.

The early morning shake was followed by aftershocks with the largest a 2.5-magnitude quake at 3.08am.

More than 11,000 people reported feeling the jolt quake particularly in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Auckland.

We are thinking of those currently dealing with rain, landslides & flooding who were woken with an earthquake this morning A shallow M4.8 quake with strong shaking occurred 5km south of Te Aroha & was felt across Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty https://t.co/buzqrG4xUk #eqnz pic.twitter.com/WJwNExi1Hb

— GeoNet (@geonet) February 2, 2023