Gisborne shaken by earthquake

The 5.1 magnitude quake struck just before 4am. Photo / File

It is highly unlikely any Gisborne residents would have been woken up by a "severe" earthquake this morning, an expert says.

The 5.1 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Gisborne around 4am, GeoNet said. It was described as "severe".

The quake was located 705km north-east of Gisborne, at a depth of 12km.

Duty seismologist Caroline Holden said because the quake was centered so far off the coast of Gisborne, it was unlikely any residents would have felt the tremor.

"We are way too far. It was quite shallow, but there is just nothing around the area of the epicentre," she said.

And despite it being located off shore, she said there was "no concern at all" about a possible tsunami.

"It was too small to create a tsunami or damage or anything."

There were no felt reports on the GeoNet website.