Today’s severe earthquakes that struck across the North Island caused bottles to smash at a Hawke’s Bay hotel.
The Duke, a hotel in Pōrangahau, was left with a messy cleanup after the 5.9 magnitude quake under the town brought bottles of wine and beer to the ground.
Footage from the hotel that was sent to 1News shows the entire building rock, with drinks fridges rocking as the ground shook.
Photos show bottles tipped over and a beer fridge covered with smashed glass.
“It was terrifying,” hotel staff member Robert Houkamau told 1News.
“We were just sitting in the office, and then it started shaking.
“I was thrown forward, and it took about five to 10 seconds to realise, oh my god, we’re having an earthquake.”
As soon as the quake had finished, staff got out from under their tables and evacuated the building.
While a number of bottles were smashed, Houkamau said they were lucky.
“We had no windows broken, but some of our neighbours did,” he said.
He told 1News that everyone in town is “shaken up”, especially after Cyclone Gabrielle devastated the area just months ago.
“We just came out of a natural disaster, and now we have an earthquake,” he said.
The earthquake struck near Pōrangahau in Hawke's Bay around 10.16 am at a depth of 22km.
More than 20,000 people across the North Island reported the quake to GeoNet.
Then, a 5.3 magnitude aftershock hit, striking in the same place at 10.19am at a depth of 15km.
Pōrangahau resident Peggy Scott felt the first jolt and the aftershocks that followed.
"It was huge, and it smashed a few things," she said.
Another person who felt the shaking said, "I was holding onto my couch here in Napier, saying a word or two".
SHARE ME