A strong magnitude 5.9 earthquake has struck near Taumarunui, waking people across much of the North Island and even being felt in parts of the South Island.
“We are just having another shake now,” she said while talking to Stuff, pausing to comfort a child.
GeoNet initially recorded a depth of 10km.
GeoNet has since recorded a string of aftershocks following the initial quake. Since 5am, at least five aftershocks ranging from magnitude 2.6 to 3.4 have struck within 10km of Taumarunui.
The largest, a magnitude 3.4, hit at 5.04am, followed by magnitude 2.8, 2.7, 2.8 and 2.6 tremors between 5.09am and 5.12am.
“It was a big jolt, lights were flashing,” Ralph said. “It’s the worst I have felt.”
Ralph said some items that flew off shelves and mantles were broken, but nothing serious. A check on her neighbours found they were OK.
Former Black Cap fast bowler Chris Martin was woken by the quake and raced to his New World supermarket, thankful when he got there it had suffered no major damage.
“There’s a little bit of stock on the floor but the team has done an amazing job at cleaning up. We have some track lighting down so we are waiting on a sparky, but we are all good.”
Martin, a mainstay of the New Zealand test attack from 2000-13, said he had been in a few earthquakes and today’s was “in the top three”.
“It was a pretty good roller that got everyone out of bed without an alarm clock.”
Maroof Muhammed, who works the graveyard shift at Taumarunui’s BP petrol station, said it was frightening. “It was scary and confusing. It was horrible. We have safety guards on the shelves but some things still fell off.”
At the Bakehouse Coffee shop, Sok Chhoir, said she and two colleagues felt the building shaking and banging, but there was no damage.
Down the road at the Taumarunui Bakery Waraporn Ng said the quake shook paint off the walls and some items off shelves, but there was no significant damage.
“We are on the main road so at first I thought it was a big truck driving past but it kept getting stronger and stronger.”
One family saw the “bank coming down” as they were travelling along State Highway 3, and said it was one of the “scariest things”.
