'Strong' magnitude 5.7 earthquake near St Arnaud, 90km southwest of Nelson

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake near St Arnaud, in the Nelson Lakes region, has been felt by more than 25,000 people across the country.

Geonet reported the “strong” earthquake struck at a depth of 62 kilometres about 10 kilometres west of St Arnaud at 10.13pm.

A map from Geonet showing where people had reported feeling the 5.7-magnitude quake centred near St Arnaud.

The quake was initially reported as a magnitude 4.4, but was quickly upgraded to a stronger shake.

Wow, that was a reasonable jolt - nearly 24,000 of you felt that! M5.7 near St Arnaud with strong shaking. We’ve had felt reports from across the South Island and the lower North Island #eqnz https://t.co/r0xPWbxlec pic.twitter.com/f4FAFF9GP4
— GeoNet (@geonet) September 3, 2020

People have reported feeling the quake from Auckland to Dunedin, with many at the top of the South Island and in Wellington saying they felt strong shaking.

Clarke Gayford, the partner of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, tweeted saying it was “quiiiiiite creaky” in the Premier House in Wellington during “those good shakes”, and it had set off the birds nesting in the ceiling.

Quiiiiiite creaky the old Prem House during those good shakes, its sure set off the birds nesting in our ceiling #eqnz
Hope everyone else is OK.
— Clarke Gayford (@NZClarke) September 3, 2020

The earthquake comes on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 2010 Darfield earthquake, the first in the devastating sequence of Christchurch quakes.