Magnitude 4.9 earthquake strikes northwest of Paraparaumu

Saturday 5 September 2026 · 4 outlets · 4 reports · updated Sat 5 Sep, 8:20am

In this story GeoNet

A moderate magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 30km northwest of Paraparaumu at 6.34am on Saturday. The tremor occurred at a depth of between 26km and 29km. Over 21,000 people have reported feeling the shaking on GeoNet.

How they headlined it

6:46am8:20am

1. NZ HeraldSat 5 Sep, 6:46am

   Lower North Island earthquake: Magnitude 4.9 quake strikes northwest of Paraparaumu (opens in new tab)

2. StuffSat 5 Sep, 6:50am

   ‘Short and loud’: Magnitude 4.9 earthquake rattles lower North Island (opens in new tab)

3. 1NewsSat 5 Sep, 7:00am

   'Whole room was shaking': Earthquake rattles lower North Island (opens in new tab)

4. Otago Daily TimesSat 5 Sep, 8:20am

   Thousands jolted by morning quake in Wellington (opens in new tab)