4.7 earthquake strikes central New Zealand

The quake struck near St Arnaud, south of Nelson. Image / Google Maps

Those in the upper South Island and lower North Island have been rattled by a 4.7 magnitude earthquake tonight.

The 7.51pm quake struck 20 kilometres south-east of St Arnaud, a hamlet 80 kilometres south of Nelson, according to Geonet.

It was 57km deep.

Within 10 minutes more than 2600 people had reported to Geonet that they felt the tremor, with most describing it as weak.

Twitter users from the Hutt to Nelson and Motueka were quick to share their thoughts.

"Oooh, that was a shakey one. This house doesn't usually react as much as my last house", one wrote.

Another described the quake as "short and sharp" and feeling like someone had "slammed a door in my house, until I remembered I live alone..."

Others were more succinct.

"Wibble Wobble #eqnz"