COMMENT: Many people seem to freeze like a possum in the headlights at the idea of reading their insurance policy.

The earthquake struck in the Bay of Plenty this evening, 15km south-west of Te Kaha. GeoNet reported the shake as "moderate'' in intensity.

There was nothing unusual about the late-night 5.1 quake that shook Marlborough and the lower North Island on Wednesday, says a scientist.

Earthquakes could have contributed to the contamination of Havelock North's water.

One of New Zealand's most-identifiable buildings closed for at least two years.

Beds and houses shook uncontrollably in the late-night quake, scaring thousands of people.

A 5.1 magnitude quake has struck north-east of Kaikoura late tonight.

International scientists have claimed the 7.8 Kaikoura quake has raised the potential threat of another large NZ event - but a Kiwi scientist says that's unlikely.

Kaikoura quake damage to businesses has topped $900 million, according to insurance figures.

Insurers IAG and Tower are headed to court to challenge the Earthquake Commission's payouts for Canterbury earthquake claimants.

Tourism continues to boom in New Zealand with spending by domestic and international visitors approaching $26b for the past year.

A 5 magnitude earthquake has struck in the Bay of Plenty. Geonet reported the quake at 15km west of Te Kaha about 10am with a depth

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake has struck between the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, however there is no tsunami warning for New Zealand.

No tsunami warning has been issued.

Four quakes of magnitude 5.2 and higher struck near the hill town of Amatrice, 100km northeast of Rome.

It took about two hours to convince authorities something was wrong after the first calls that an avalanche buried a four-star spa hotel in central Italy, leaving at least 30 people missing.

A group of uninsured homeowners in Christchurch have lost their bid to avoid costs for a legal battle with the Government.

More than 20,000 students asked for an emergency derived grade following the Kaikoura earthquake.

Tens of thousands of tonnes of steel and concrete from Wellington's earthquake demolition sites will be recycled.

Quake-damaged buildings to be torn down and the materials reused.

Drop, Cover, Hold: Even pre-schoolers are taught that is the right thing to do in an earthquake.

A Ministry of Civil Defence spokesman said while there would be "a few pounding hearts" following the rattle, there was no need for people to worry about a tsunami.

A slip has closed State Highway 1 south of Kaikoura, as the impact of November's magnitude 7.8 earthquake continues.

Hundreds of people have reported being shaken awake this morning in Bay of Plenty.

A severe quake measuring 5.3 rocked central New Zealand just after midnight.

An earlier tsunami warning has been lifted following the magnitude 7.2 quake which struck off the coast Fiji.

Nine cars trapped inside the condemned Reading Cinema carpark building in Wellington will never be recovered.

The demolition of Wellington's earthquake-damaged Reading Cinema carpark building has begun.

Whale Watch is back on the water in Kaikoura.

2016 has won GeoNet's "dubious honour" of having the largest amount of recorded earthquakes in the network's history.