Light earthquake strikes near Paraparaumu, Kiwis record feeling shakes up and down country

The earthquake struck off the west coast of the North Island. Photo / Geonet

Thousands of Kiwis across the nation have registered to have felt a light earthquake which struck off the west coast of the North Island this evening.

The 4.7 magnitude quake struck at 7.27pm around 50km north-west of Paraparaumu - a town on the Kapiti Coast north of Wellington.

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And while it struck at a depth of 57km, Kiwis as far north as Whangarei and as far south as Christchurch reportedly felt the shaking.

However, the majority of responders on Geonet recorded having only felt weak shaking - 2280 people.

M4.3 quake causing light shaking near Paraparaumu https://t.co/Ls2UxSV7vd

— GeoNet (@geonet) January 25, 2020

Light shaking followed in second with 1334 people reporting having felt the quake, followed by moderate and strong shaking - 121 and 5 people respectively.

Four people alleged to have felt extreme shaking.

Elsewhere, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked a sparsely-population region of eastern Turkey, resulting in the deaths of 18 people overnight.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 13 people were killed in Elazig, including two people who suffered heart attacks, and five others died in Malatya.

A total of 553 people were hurt, including 11 who were in serious condition.

Some 30 buildings had collapsed from the quake in the two provinces, according to Murat Kurum, the environment minister.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter all measures were being taken to "ensure that the earthquake that occurred in Elazig and was felt in many provinces is overcome with the least amount of loss."