A magnitude 3.3 earthquake centred 5km south of Christchurch was felt by thousands about 10.30pm last night.
It comes shortly after the February 22 anniversary of the 2011 earthquake that devastated the city, killing 185 people.
GeoNet reports over 10,000 people felt last night's quake, which struck at a depth of 6km.
The shaking from the earthquake is classed as "light" on the GeoNet website.
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"Just felt my first earthquake," one Twitter user wrote.
"Luckily it was short. Brings back terrible memories though," another said.
"Just enough earth wiggle to be unsettling after such a long fortnight of big disasters," political scientist Bronwyn Hayward wrote.
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