A strong earthquake has rocked Christchurch this afternoon - the first to be widely felt in months.
Initial reports by GeoNet said it was a magnitude-4.1 shake, located 25km south-west of Christchurch, near Darfield, at a depth of 7km.
Quake-hardened Cantabrians went on social media to record their experiences of the rare jolt, which hit at 3.59pm.
"Sharp jolt in Cashmere. Scared the beejesus out of me," said one person on the TradeMe community forum.
Another said: "A wobble and a bit of noise ... first one I've felt in months ... I actually said a rude word!"
GeoNet rated the Mercalli Intensity as 5 - the power with which the tremor is felt on the earth's surface.
