4.4 quake felt in South

A 4.4 magnitude earthquake near Wellington was felt as far away as Central Otago and Southland.

It hit at 11.59am today 20km north-west of Wellington at a depth of 40km.

More than 4080 people have told GeoNet that they have felt the tremor.

Reports have come from as far away as Auckland, Canterbury, Central Otago and Southland.

One Twitter user said: "That was a hell of a jolt in Wellington #eqnz."

A police communications spokesperson said the quake built up slowly then had a big shake at the end.

"It gave us a real jolt. It was a weird one. It was really, really slow then did one big jolt then it was over in 15 - 20 seconds."

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ward administrator Kalala Filipo was sitting at her desk on the fourth floor where she felt the building wave from side to side. She said the quake was enough to rattle items on her desk but not serious enough to do any damage.

Police and the Fire Service said they haven't had any calls asking for assistance.

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