Second tremor hits Kapiti Coast and Wellington area

Another earthquake hit the Wellington region just before 11am today.

It was a 3.2 magnitude quake at 10:54 am, centred 30 km south-east of Wellington, at a depth of 25 km. There were no immediate reports of damage.

On Saturday, Kapiti, Wellington and Picton residents were shaken by a much bigger quake.

The 5.7 magnitude earthquake was centred 30km east of Picton in the Marlborough Sounds at 7.19pm, at a depth of 60km.

Wellington and Picton escaped major damage due to the depth of the quake.

The quake was felt from New Plymouth to Christchurch. Many described hearing a loud “thunder-like” noise as the ground swayed, before the jolt hit, lasting about 20 seconds.

The fire service was called out to investigate damage to louvres on the outside of the Meridian building on Wellington’s waterfront and a number of alarms were set off.

GNS Science Geohazard duty officer Dr Tony Hurst said the quake was the biggest recorded in the area since the Seddon earthquake of 1966. That caused significant damage because it was at a depth of 12km.