Aftershock hits Southland

Southland has been rocked by a quake similar to one which struck the area on Wednesday.

The tremor which measured 4.9 on the Richter scale happened at 8.55am, 150km west of Tuatapere and at a depth of 5km, according to GNS Science.

Wednesday's quake was magnitude 5.2, and hit 120km west of Tuatapere, at a depth of 12km.

The quakes are a continuation of the aftershocks following Fiordland's 7.8 earthquake last month - the biggest in the world this year.

- NZPA