Magnitude 4.7 quake rattles near Seddon

Photo / File

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake has just rattled the middle of the country.

The 33km deep quake hit 15km south-east of Seddon just after 6.14pm.

The quake, which is being categorised as strong by Geonet, was felt in Wellington.

Commenters on Geonet's Facebook page weighed in on the quake.
​
"That didn't feel moderate," said Cory Price, after Geonet initially classified the tremor as moderate.

Katy Pownall said her Christmas tree was "dancing".

"Tots (sic) not a moderate quake!" she posted.

​Twitter user Kat Zolita Mason said she felt the earthquake in Wellington.

"It made the bed shake but not the way I like!" she tweeted.

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester also took to Twitter to declare "That was a decent jolt", while another Twitter user questioned what newly-chosen Prime Minister Bill English was going to do about the earthquakes.

​Meanwhile Twitter user Jay Harvie said "I didn't feel diddly squat and I'm quite okay with that."

Geonet has downgraded the quake to magnitude 4.7, after initially classifying it 5.0, then downgrading it to 4.8 magnitude.

It also amended the depth saying the quake hit at 15km deep, rather than 33km.