A MAGNITUDE-5.2 earthquake has hit New Zealand’s North Island, the US Geological Survey says.
The quake struck the east coast of the North Island, near Palmerston North, at 10.48am local time today (8.48am AEST), the USGS reported on its website.
New Zealand’s GeoNet monitoring system said the quake struck at a depth of 15 kilometres, while the USGS put it at 16.7km.
The quake was widely felt in the Hawkes Bay region, GeoNet said on its website.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue a tsunami alert, and there were no immediate reports of damage.
The quake comes just days after the Canterbury region of New Zealand’s South Island was hit by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake early on Saturday.
