Thousands of people have reported feeling a magnitude 4.0 earthquake on the east coast of Christchurch.
The earthquake happened at 1.22pm, 15km east of Christchurch at a depth of 24km, and was reported to have caused weak to moderate shaking by more than 1500 people so far.
A GeoNet tweet said the shaking may have been felt in Akaroa, Amberley, Cheviot, Christchurch, Culverden, Oxford and surrounding localities.
No one had reported feeling shaking in the strong to extreme categories, 62 people felt moderate shaking, 699 felt light and 881 felt weak.
