4.6 earthquake near Whakatāne - 300 recorded across Bay of Plenty

A swarm of earthquakes has hit the Bay of Plenty. Photo / Geonet

More than 300 earthquakes have been recorded by GeoNet over the weekend, as quakes continue to rock areas across the Bay of Plenty.

GeoNet said in a tweet at 10.43am that a magnitude 4.6 earthquake was causing moderate shaking near Whakatāne.

The quake was recorded 20km west of Whakatāne at the depth of 4km, with more than 866 people saying they had felt it, although mostly weak to light.

Yesterday GeoNet said a swarm of earthquakes had been occurring overnight southwest of Kawerau but felt across the Bay of Plenty.

“We have recorded more than 40 earthquakes so far, the largest of which have been a M4.8 and M4.6,” they said.

“This swarm is in a similar area to swarms that occurred in 2018 and 2019.”

GeoNet however said residents in the area need not be alarmed.

“Feeling the earthquakes close together in time can be unsettling, but this is typical activity for the area, and our team is keeping an eye on things,” they said.