The East Cape was shaken by five small earthquakes today, though very few people reported feeling them.
The first, just after 11am, was centred 5km south-east of Ruatoria at a depth of 11km.
GeoNet recorded its magnitude at 4.2. Only three witness reports were lodged of people feeling the quake.
About an hour and a half later, at 12.24pm, 12:30pm and 12:47pm, the same area was struck by a series of small quakes of 4.6, 2.3 and 3.1 magnitude respectively.