A number of earthquakes near Te Aroha woke people from their sleep this morning across the upper North Island.
GeoNet reports three quakes occurred near the town from about 5.39am this morning.
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The first earthquake - a 5.1 in magnitude and described as strong - occurred at 5.39am 5km south of Te Aroha at a depth of 7km.
The second earthquake - a 2.7 in magnitude and described as weak - occurred a few minutes later at 5.47am 5km south of Te Aroha at a depth of 5km.
The third earthquake - also a 2.7 in magnitude and described as weak - occurred at 5.51am 5km southwest of Te Aroha at a depth of 5km.
The 5.1-magnitude earthquake was felt by more than 20,000 people, while the first 2.7-magnitude earthquake was felt by more than 8000 people.
The second 2.7-magnitude earthquake was felt by more than 4000 people.
People across the upper North Island replied to GeoNet's tweets about the earthquakes, saying it woke them up in places such as Hamilton, Rotorua, Morrinsville, Te Awamatu, Tauranga and as far north as Auckland.
Some described the 5.1-magnitude earthquake as "long and strong", with one person in Tauranga describing it as a "serious shake and roll".
Others told 1News the quake felt in Tauranga was "scary" as it rattled windows and doors and made their houses shake.
Six more earthquakes have since been reported after this morning's flurry of shakes.
The strongest quakes since about 6am were a 3.9-magnitude at 11.21am and a 3.0-magnitude at 11.39am, both of which were 5km south of Te Aroha and at a depth of 5km.
GeoNet said the quakes are likely on the same fault system and added the area last had a strong quake in 1972 - the 4.9-magnitude Te Aroha earthquake.
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