'Strong earthquake': 5.8 Marlborough shake felt in Wellington, throughout Central New Zealand

An image from GeoNet showing reports of locations from which the earthquake was felt.

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake has been felt in Wellington and throughout Central New Zealand.

Newstalk ZB Wellington reporter Nick James described it as "a good shake".

According to GeoNet's website, Thursday night's quake had a magnitude of 5.8. It struck 30km northeast of French Pass at 9.07pm at a depth of 51km.

The quake was reported as being felt by more than 44,500 people by 9.50pm, according to GeoNet's website, with 44 of them reporting "extreme" shakes.

Geonet called it a "strong earthquake".

"You may have felt that quake! Caused by a M5.8 earthquake in the Marlborough region. It was moderately deep and felt over a wide area – typical of earthquakes of this size and depth. It caused strong shaking and has received around 44,000 felt reports," Geonet said.

A Fire and Emergency spokeswoman based in Wellington felt the quake and said "it got very strong and then petered off". It lasted for just under a minute, she thought.

A passenger on board an Air New Zealand flight from Auckland scheduled to land in Wellington at 9.10pm tweeted that the plane was diverted to Christchurch after originally circling while the runway in the Capital was checked for damage.

A woman named Bernice, from Lower Hutt, was speaking to Marcus Lush on Newstalk ZB as the quake was happening.

"It was a bit of rumble then boom. It's over now though," she told Lush.

"Jeepers that really happened, an earthquake happening live on radio. What are the chances," Lush exclaimed.

The Whanganui Chronicle's Sue Dudman reported "lots of noise and rock'n'roll" in the city.

She heard it before the shaking started.

"It seemed to take quite a while for any other activity to arrive and then it felt quite rolling," Dudman said.

GeoNet says on its website the quake may have been felt in "Blenheim, Castlepoint, Cheviot, Collingwood, Culverden, Dannevirke, Eketahuna, Feilding, French Pass, Hanmer Springs, Hastings, Hawera, Hunterville, Kaikōura, Karamea, Levin, Martinborough, Masterton, Mōkau, Motueka, Murchison, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Ohakune, Opunake, Palmerston North, Paraparaumu, Picton, Pongaroa, Porangahau, Reefton, Seddon, St Arnaud, Stratford, Taihape, Taumarunui, Taupō, Tūrangi, Waipukurau, Waverley, Wellington, Westport, Whanganui, and surrounding localities."

That was a horrible shake.#eqnz

— Guy Smiley (@GuySmiley11) September 22, 2022

Did my usual sit on edge of the couch ready to get up but not actually get up for that one. Unusual to feel in Hatiatai, so def a biggie. #eqnz

— Keryn M (@kerynmac) September 22, 2022

Heard it coming well before we felt it in Whanganui

— Tony Stuart (@TonyStuart55) September 22, 2022

Earlier on Thursday, there was a 4.8 magnitude earthquake 110km northeast of Whangamatā, GeoNet reported.

"The quake was 225km deep and the shaking was weak close to the quake," GeoNet said of that quake at 4.28pm.

"The quake may have been felt in Ōpōtiki, Tauranga, Te Aroha, Te Kaha, Thames, Whakaari/White Island, Whakatāne, Whangamatā, Whitianga, and surrounding localities."