A strong earthquake struck off the west coast of New Zealand's North Island today, shaking residents across a wide area and toppling goods from shelves.
There were no immediate reports of major damage or injury.
The 7.0 magnitude quake was centred 170km northwest of the capital Wellington at a depth of 230km, the national GeoNet website reported.
The US Geological Service earlier reported the tremor at a 6.2 magnitude. There was no tsunami warning issued.
The quake was felt throughout central New Zealand, sparking a flurry of activity on social network sites, but local media reported only minor damage.
"It was a good shake but we see no damage. I felt the whole building shake," said a spokeswoman at the Opunake police station, some 60km from the epicentre.
Christchurch, the New Zealand's second-largest city, is still recovering from a shallow quake measuring 6.3 which killed 182 people in February last year and caused some NZ$20 billion (€11.5 billion) in damage.
Large areas of Christchurch's central business district were off-limits for months after the February quake, which toppled the city's famous cathedral, as well as shops, homes and office buildings.
About 6,000 homes in the city were condemned after the earthquake.