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Bay of Plenty Times

Magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes off East Coast

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Visualisation of the severe earthquake from early this morning off the east coast of the North Island. Video / NIWA

Visualisation of the severe earthquake from early this morning off the east coast of the North Island. Video / NIWA

Bay of Plenty Times

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake has struck off the East Coast.

The quake had a depth of 22km and GeoNet has described the shaking intensity as moderate.

It hit at 7.37pm on Easter Monday, about 120km east of Te Araroa.

GeoNet said the quake, initially reported as magnitude 6.2, was likely to be an aftershock to the magnitude 7.3 East Cape quake on March 5.

"We expect for there to be further earthquakes in the region, some of which may be widely felt. This is the largest earthquake in the region since an M6.2 on March 6," GeoNet tweeted.

The National Emergency Management Agency said there was no threat of tsunami.

People as far afield as Auckland and the South Island reported feeling it.

DID YOU FEEL THE QUAKE? IF YOU DID LET US KNOW

A resident of Ōhope in the eastern Bay of Plenty said she felt shaking and her light shades were swinging.

Another person camping in the area described it as a "freaky feeling".

"We are camping in Ōhope and my friend and I felt our chairs sway side to side," Shara said.

"We knew it must be an earthquake. What a freaky feeling."