The severe earthquake which rocked NZ this afternoon sent workers in Wellington running into the streets as the ground shook and buildings swayed from side to side.

Marlborough and Wellington residents tell their stories of today's earthquake and its aftermath.

A series of aftershocks have rumbled across central New Zealand this morning, sparked by a strong magnitude 4.9 jolt near Seddon, Marlborough shortly before 1am.

A shallow 4.2 magnitude earthquake has been detected near East Cape, after a strong aftershock near Wellington this morning.

Residents have cleared out of a central Wellington street while urgent work is carried out on a quake-damaged carpark lift which could come crashing down in an aftershock.

More than 1000 claims have been lodged with the Earthquake Commission following the swarm of quakes centred off the Seddon coast.

The email mistakes that embarrassed the Earthquake Commission and ACC are having ramifications for the public's right to access information from the state.

Insurance payouts are moving at a sluggish rate in Christchurch, and it will be at least 2015 before major companies have processed all claims.

Around 200 claims have been filed in the wake of Tuesday night's earthquake off the coast of Taranaki, but the Earthquake Commission is telling those affected it could be next year before any damage is assessed. The 7.0 quake was widely felt throughout...