Hundreds woken by earthquake in Rotorua

According to Geonet, a 2.5 magnitude quake at a depth of 4km hit the city just before 4am. Photo / File

Hundreds of Rotorua residents were woken by a quick jolt in the early hours of this morning.

According to Geonet, a 2.5 magnitude quake at a depth of 4km hit the city just before 4am.

More than 300 residents reported to the Rotorua Daily Post that the quake woke them, shook their house or had their pets going wild.

"I woke up to the whole house shaking, but it was over really quickly. Then my dog just went nuts," one resident said.

A Rotorua Lakes Council spokeswoman said the museum had been inspected this morning and had a couple of loose tiles and a cracked window following the quake.

The Sir Howard Morrison Performing Arts Centre will be inspected later today, she said.

"We're not aware of any other reports of damage and the earthquake was not significant enough to require building checks."

The shake follows two strong earthquakes that hit both Milford Sound the Hawkes Bay yesterday.

A 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck 30km east of Wairoa, in the north of Hawke's Bay about 6.15pm last night.

It was strong and widely felt with a depth of 25km, according to Geonet.

The quake struck off the coast at 6.16pm and was felt in central and eastern regions of the North Island.

Geonet said it was strong and had a depth of 25km.

Earlier in the day, a shallow 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit north of Milford Sound yesterday morning at depth of just 5km.

The quake struck 15 km north-west of Milford Sound and was felt in Haast, Queenstown, Te Anau and Wanaka.