By Rachel Helyer Donaldson of RNZ
GNS Science says it has recorded more than 80 earthquakes in the Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti regions since they began measuring activity this week.
The swarm of shallow but frequent tremors began on Tuesday just before 6am.
Seismic duty officer Elisabetta D’Anastasio said the tremors were recorded about 20km northeast of Wairoa in Hawke’s Bay.
The largest - a 4.5-magnitude quake - was felt by around 240 people early on Wednesday morning.