A 6.2-magnitude earthquake rattled the New Zealand capital of Wellington on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.
The quake hit at a depth of 236 kilometres (146 miles) at 10:36 GMT around 173 kilometres northwest of the city, USGS said. The quake was strong enough to be felt by residents in the city.
A 6.3-magnitude quake hit New Zealand's second largest city of Christchurch in February last year, flattening office blocks and toppling buildings onto lunchtime crowds and leaving 185 people dead.
The sparsely populated country sits on the so-called 'Ring of Fire', the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.