The rolling 7.0 magnitude earthquake that shook Hawke's Bay residents on Tuesday night was a reminder to be prepared for big events, emergency services say.
The 10.36pm quake, centred 60km southwest of Opunake, lasted 45 seconds and was widely felt from the Bay of Plenty to Canterbury.
Hawke's Bay residents
were quick to record their earthquake experiences on social media sites, with many reporting being woken, lunging for safety under doorways and tables, and falling objects.
Local experts pointed out New Zealanders were lucky the quake was 230km deep, because it was the type that could cause a tsunami.
Hawke's Bay Civil Defence emergency management co-ordinator, Lisa Pearse, said: "Being felt in Hawke's Bay as a weak, long, rolling motion with a long duration, [I] knew it was a large quake some distance away with the potential to generate a tsunami.
