Thousands of people in the North Island reported feeling the 4.8 magnitude quake. Photo: Geonet

As parts of the upper North Island slowly emerge from days of flooding, the area has once again been destabilised - this time by an earthquake.

More than 11,000 people reported feeling the magnitude 4.8-tremor just after 2am today. 

It was centred 5km fsouth of Te Aroha and 6km deep.

People from Kaitaia through to sodden regions of Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Coromandel - and even down in Christchurch in the South Island - were jolted awake.

A series of weaker aftershocks began to strike 40 minutes later. There were no reports of damage as of yet.

"The funny thing was I was actually awake at the time that it struck," Te Kuiti resident Zane Burdett told RNZ.

Te Kuiti is about 100km from Te Aroha. He said it arrived as a single jolt, making his house creak.

It was also a restless night for Kees Meinderts of Motumaoho, just south of Morrinsville and about 25km from the epicentre.

"I've had many experiences with earthquakes in my life now, and I hadn't gone to bed yet - I was just sitting on the edge of the bed - and suddenly I thought, 'Eh, what is happening there?'

"Lots of noise. I didn't think of an earthquake straight away - I thought it was a big truck or something. A big jolt, lots of noise, and then a rumbling. I was just sitting on the bed like it was a little bit of a rocking horse."

Meinderts said it lasted much longer than the magnitude-5.1 quake that hit the region on January 4.

This quake coincides with the 92nd anniversary of the devastating Napier quake which killed 256 people in 1931.

Geonet seismic duty officer Libby Abbot said today's quake would have been a "jarring" experience after a week of heavy rain and flooding.

"Six kilometres is quite shallow. It's quite near to Te Aroha, so shaking near the epicentre would have been pretty strong for those nearby."

More aftershocks should be expected, she said.

The region is in the Hauraki rift zone, which extends up from South Waikato, east of Putaruru and Tokoroa, through Te Aroha and up along the western coast of the Coromandel Peninsula.

"Earthquakes are not unusual in New Zealand, as we know, and in any part of the country people should be prepared," Abbot said. 

Luckily, the Hauraki rift is not as active as some other faultlines in Aotearoa, which sits on the edge of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates.

Abbot said she wouldn't expect any major damage to result from Friday morning's rumble.