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.
