Like many around the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she was “absolutely” jolted awake by the 2.27am earthquake off the country's east coast.
Almost immediately, at 2.29am, Ardern sent a text message to Kiri Allan, the new Emergency Management Minister.
“She sent me a text message to make sure I was going to be doing my job,” Allan joked.
Ardern said she “checked in” on her minister while thinking “bugger it”, which would be “pretty much what everyone else thought at that time” of the earthquake.
“Hard not to feel like our country is having a run of bad luck, when you’ve got an earthquake, tsunami and pandemic to contend with all in one day.”
But New Zealand has always been “the shaky isles”, she added.
"We have had our share of tough moments in this country, but within that we have always been blessed incredible people who work in our emergency system."
Allan praised people for their response to the earthquakes and tsunami, particularly those who evacuated in the early hours of the morning when they felt a long, strong earthquake.
She warned people to take care, even though the alerts throughout the country had been lifted.
"Whilst there are no longer the restrictions on being able to go down to the beach, please exercise prudent judgement."
The National Emergency Management Agency cancelled all tsunami warnings at 3.45pm.
A magnitude 7.1 hit off the east coast of the North Island around 2.27am today, followed by a 7.4 and 8.1 near the Kermadec Islands at 6.41am and 8.28am respectively.
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