Nearly 9 years to the minute after the M7.8 2009 Dusky Sound quake, the nearly 8-year-old Canterbury sequence has generated only it's second M4 of 2018. Both have been offshore New Brighton in the region of the Dec 2011 & Feb 2016 earthquake zones #eqnz@SinistralSeismo@geonethttps://t.co/wcBadaNku2
On Facebook, Herald readers also shared their experience with many saying it felt far bigger than a 4.
While the earthquake did not appear to do any damage readers said it was a "good shake".
One commented: "House was rocking kids were screaming."
"Given all the experience I have had over the years, I immediately thought it was at least a 4.5 maybe slightly higher ... we really did move here in North New Brighton .. and we dashed to the children's room unsure of where the quake was going," Marlene Fedoruk wrote.
Glenda Blagdon said it felt bigger than it was. "Just a 4? Really? Felt bigger here in Rangiora. Cat still freaked!"