Quake near Whanganui felt in Wellington, Nelson

Photo / File

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake near Waverley was recorded this afternoon.

The 4.54pm tremor was centred 60km south-west of Waverley at a depth of 120km, Geonet reported on its website.

Twitter users reported feeling it in Nelson and Wellington as well as Whanganui.

Geonet tweeted: "A bit of a shake to bring in the weekend with a M4.9 earthquake occurring 120 kilometres below the Whanganui Basin. It caused weak shaking and was felt across the lower North Island and top of the South Island. We have received 5200 felt reports."

A bit of a shake to bring in the weekend with a M4.9 earthquake occurring 120 kilometres below the Whanganui Basin. It caused weak shaking and was felt across the the lower North Island and top of the South Island. We have received 5200 felt reports. pic.twitter.com/AD2NX3IsQb

— GeoNet (@geonet) February 12, 2021

"These deep earthquakes are typically widely felt, but usually not close to the epicentre. This is due to the subducting tectonic plate under the North Island - most of the quake's energy travels up and along the plate to the surface closer to the East Coast."