A magnitude 4.1 earthquake has rattled the eastern Bay of Plenty this evening.
GeoNet said the tremor occurred at around 6.25pm on Tuesday, around 15km west of Whakatāne at a depth of 5km.
Thousands reported feeling the shaking, classified as "light" by GeoNet.
"That was a big shake," one Whakatāne resident said on Facebook.
"Waoooo, that was a solid shake [sic]," another resident added.
One woman said "Papatuanuku is shaking here in Whakātane," adding that her "entire cabin shook like my heart".
Tonight's shaking joined a cluster of earthquakes around New Zealand in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, a "strong" magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck near Te Araroa and was felt by thousands.
Taumarauni was jolted by a "severe" magnitude 5.9 earthquake in July, which followed a magnitude 5.9 earthquake near Te Anau a week earlier.
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