Multiple earthquakes and aftershocks recorded at the Kahutara drum near Kaikoura today

Another severe earthquake has rocked New Zealand.

The shallow magnitude 5.2 quake was centered near Seddon at a depth of 13 km, 86 km south of Wellington at 12.17 am January 6, NZ time. View the details here.

As yet a full damage assessment hasn’t been made, but the quake comes at peak tourist time in a region of the country popular with overseas visitors and migrants. It was felt across the upper South Island, and lower North Island. Thousands of felt reports were made to Geonet within minutes of it hitting.

This quake is likely to be an aftershock of the Kaikoura earthquake, which are predicted to continue for some months, perhaps years.

Here’s the details, as told by social media. Our advice is to not travel to New Zealand until the current period of unrest is over:

more to come…