Geonet upgrade quake magnitude to 6.6 - reports

BREAKING NEWS: Geonet has confirmed to infonews.co.nz that the magnitude of the 6.2 earthquake that struck at 2.31pm today has been upgraded to a 6.6 magnitude earthquake which caused a regional state of emergency. 

The quake struck at a depth of 10km at 2.31pm and was felt all over New Zealand, as far south as Christchurch.

Buildings have collapsed in Nelson and a home in Seddon, cracks can be seen on the Wellington harbor and one Wellington resident told infonews.co.nz that it looked like the harbor was swaying. 

"It was swaying. Very scary. I went for higher ground" she said. 

The quake wasn't just felt in Central New Zealand but also New Plymouth where Spotswood College students were told to brace themselves when the quake struck, under the desks they went told one student.

"It was pretty scary. Big quake, and we were all told to get under our desks and brace ourselves. We were just hoping it wasnt the big one. We were all praying for Wellington" she said.

Power was out to Central New Zealand for quite some time but most spots have been put back on.

Trains and busses have also been cancelled until further notice in Wellington.

DELAYS AS PEOPLE LEAVE WELLINGTON

We have spoken to several people who have told us all motorways are packed with vehicles, especially the northbound motorway. 

"We are leaving up north for the weekend due to the quakes, we dont want to put our kids in the situation they were. The school left them stranded after it happened" 

"We've been waiting on the motorway for an hour and havent got anywhere." 

SPECIAL BUELITIN FROM TV3

There will be a special buelitin on the earthquakes from 5pm on TV3 from the 3News team, however the programme will only go to 5.30pm.

The 6pm news will also have the latest from the quakes.

Meanwhile on TV ONE, ONE News have been keeping everyone up to date every half hour and will have full programming at 6pm in the full news. 

NO TSUNAMI WARNING

infonews.co.nz have been told to confirm, no tsunami warning was issued. 

Keep upto date with the latest news from the Seddon quake from 3News at 5pm and 6pm, and ONE News from 6.

INFONEWS.CO.NZ will be updating our coverage at 5.10pm, 5.20pm and at 5.30pm.

Ofcourse the infonews.co.nz news team are working around the clock to keep you upto date on the earthquakes happening all around New Zealand since the initial big quake. 

News Source:

infonews.co.nz Taranaki | infonews.co.nz Wellington | infonews.co.nz Christchurch 

WHAT DID YOU FEEL? 

Send in your felt comments to infonews.co.nz below with your location.