Wellington jolted by 4.6 magnitude earthquake

Geonet reported the earthquake happened just before 3pm. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington has been jolted by a 4.6 magnitude earthquake.

Geonet reported it happened just before 3pm. It was centred in Cook Strait, 40km north-east of Picton and 28km deep.

This is the same location as a smaller 3.5 magnitude earthquake that struck at 8am.

One person posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Yuck, that earthquake was like a truck hitting the house.”

A M4.6 earthquake with light shaking has occurred at 2:58pm in the Cook Strait. It was felt in Wellington and the top of the South Island and we have received nearly 10,000 felt reports.

For more details https://t.co/fvhFhB1izi pic.twitter.com/Xmi0q2v826

— GeoNet (@geonet) March 16, 2024

Thousands reported feeling the shake.

Another person in Lower Hutt said on X that it gave them a fright: “Normally, I hear them coming, but that was a sudden, sharp jolt!”

Someone else said it was a “strong 4.6″ and their heart was still racing.

Ooh, that #eqnz gave me a fright! Normally, I hear them coming, but that was a sudden, sharp jolt! #lowerHutt #AoNZ

— Elizabeth S 😷 (@irihapeta) March 16, 2024

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.