Strong earthquake strikes north of Canterbury

A strong earthquake struck about 4.30am near northern Canterbury. Image / Google

A strong earthquake has struck near northern Canterbury early this morning.

The 5.1 magnitude quake hit just before 4.30am, about 10km north-west of Culverden.

GeoNet, who initially said it was a 4.9 magnitude event, said it happened at a depth of 10km.

An alert on Twitter said the quake was causing strong shaking near Culverden at 4.30am.

Hundreds of people have reported feeling it - including those in Christchurch.

M4.9 quake causing strong shaking near Culverden https://t.co/wSgVqNvCXU

— GeoNet (@geonet) March 15, 2020

Just before 6.30am, 679 people had checked in on GeoNet's "felt report" page; with three people reporting it felt "extreme" where they were.

There are no reports of damage at this stage.