Magnitude 4.5 earthquake recorded south of Waverley, Taranaki

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded 60km southwest of Waverley, Taranaki, on Friday evening.

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake has struck south of the Taranaki town of Waverley and may have been felt across the southwest of the North Island and top of the South Island.

Geonet recorded the shaking originating from a point 60km southwest of Waverley at a depth of 70km at 8.34pm on Friday.

More than 2900 people recorded feeling the quake by 9.30pm, most reporting it as light or moderate.

One NZME reporter in New Plymouth described the quake as “a quick jolt followed by a bit of a rumble”.

A deep offshore M4.5 earthquake caused light shaking in the Whanganui Basin. It was felt widely from Taranaki to the top of the South Island. At 78km depth, the earthquake was too deep to generate tsunami. We have received 2900+ felt reports. https://t.co/UrWdsxW0nz pic.twitter.com/UmpIgCSk97

— GeoNet (@geonet) April 26, 2024

GeoNet initially reported the jolt as a magnitude 4.7 tremor before it was downgraded to a magnitude 4.5.