Super Liquor Taumarunui manager Akhil Suthan said he had no idea there'd been a quake when contacted by the Herald.
"Oh, actually I didn't feel anything. When was it?" he asked.
"Nah, nothing happened here."
Ruapehu Mayor Don Cameron, who is working in Horopito - north of Ohakune - today, didn't feel it either.
"No I didn't. I was on a call upstairs of a three-storey building but felt and heard nothing.
"Usually we hear them coming before the shake."
Cameron checked with Civil Defence and Emergency staff, who said it was more than 200km deep.
The shockwave spreads along the fault line that rises as it heads towards Wellington, he said.
"Certainly no reports of damage."
A staff member at BP Taumarunui said he didn't feel it either.
Ruapehu Civil Defence controller Clive Manley said there were no reports of damage or other issues from the quake that was centered to the south-west of Taumarunui.
GNS science reported the earthquake at a depth of 210km and shaking as weak.
Council's civil defence team was ready to react to any calls for assistance but at this stage none had been received, Manley said.
However, a woman in Wellington said she felt the quake - on the 17th floor of an office block.
"I did! I am on the 17th floor of an office block in Lambton Quay - felt like I was bouncing up and down in my chair."
