A flurry of quakes have struck east of Rotorua, between 7.55 and 8.20 this morning.
The strongest was a 4.9 magnitude quake, which struck about 20 kilometres east of Rotorua at 8.12am, at a depth of five kilometres.
Rotorua Daily Post reporter Kelly Makiha says it was felt by people across Rotorua.
She says there were reports of people gathering their kids and hiding under tables.
Richard Freeman, from Tauranga's Welcome Bay, says his relatively new house was creaking under the pressure.
He says they felt a jolt, then rolling, and the water in their coffee machine was slopping from side to side.
