Magnitude 3.3 earthquake felt by 500 in Hawke's Bay

It was one of three quakes in Hawke's Bay on Monday. Photo / Geonet

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake near Hastings was widely felt in Hawke's Bay on Monday evening.

Geonet reported that the 6.36pm earthquake's epicentre was just five kilometres from Hastings, near Pakipaki, and it struck at a depth of 33km. By Tuesday morning 500 people had reported feeling it.

It was one of three quakes in Hawke's Bay on Monday.

Two earthquakes struck near Hastings on Monday morning, less than an hour apart and in opposite directions.

The first, a magnitude 3.3, struck five kilometres north-east of Hastings at a depth of 21 km at 10.37am.

At 11.13am another quake, with a magnitude of 2.8, struck five km south-west of Hastings at a depth of about 35km.

The first of these was felt by 126 people while the second was felt by just six people.