Auckland earthquake: Weak 5.2 magnitude shake rocks city, Bay of Plenty, Coromandel

The earthquake struck this morning about 120km offshore from Whangamatā. Photo / GeoNet

Many Aucklanders have been woken by a rare - but weak - earthquake, a shake that was felt through much of the region and south to the Bay of Plenty.

The 5.2 magnitude quake struck 120km northeast of Whangamatā on the Coromandel Peninsula at 3.47am.

"Strange wake-up call for Auckland. I was in the last big one in LA but this shake felt pretty strong," one person tweeted.

"On the twelfth floor of a hotel in Takapuna and got woken up lol," someone else said on Twitter.

"Heard the rumble, then felt the house shaking here in Bethlehem," tweeted another.

There are no tsunami warnings, according to a post from GeoNet on Facebook.

The quake was at a depth of 5km and was felt by more 2500 people, according to GeoNet.

The majority of people classed the shaking as weak (1255), followed by light (1067) and then moderate (236).

Bit of an early wake up for Auckland and Bay of Plenty this morning, a M5.2 earthquake with weak shaking has occurred 120km offshore Whangamata and was felt throughout Auckland and the Bay of Plenty with over 2500 felt reports. https://t.co/15CWtlmQMw pic.twitter.com/WBVrkPdcFr

— GeoNet (@geonet) August 28, 2020

"Yep in Gulf Harbour woke me didn't feel weak to me," someone commented on a nzherald.co.nz Facebook post about the quake.

"This woke me up. I thought I was going crazy," another said.

"Yes it felt very strong in Whangamatā," someone commented.

A Facebook user in the comment section of a GeoNet post about the quake said people in Auckland would have had no idea what happened.

"Few spilt lattes I suppose," the user joked.

People throughout Auckland, Waikato, Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty reported waking up to the shaking on the GeoNet post.

"Yep def felt in Tauranga my house was groaning and glasses were shaking," a user commented.

"Felt the whole house shaking here in Whiritoa. Woke kid's and I up," another said.

"Felt it in Karangahake Gorge. Whole building shook, nothing fell off shelves," said someone else.

But not everyone was jolted awake.

"I was awake at Mt Maunganui. Didn't feel it. Will look at all my wall art. They will tell," one person wrote.