Three quakes rattle Hawke's Bay | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

Three earthquakes struck Central Hawke's Bay on Tuesday, the biggest causing Porangahau residents to shelter in doorways as objects tumbled off shelves.

The biggest quake, at 10.48am, measured magnitude 5.2 and struck 15km deep about 20km southeast of the coastal town.

No major damage was reported, but the quake was enough to shake up residents following the destructive 7.1 Canterbury quake on Saturday.

Pupils at Porangahau School put recent earthquake training to use, said executive officer Selina Cook. "Luckily it was morning tea, so most of the kids were in the playground. They were a bit frightened but they all did what they were meant to do and the ones inside stood in door frames," she said.

The earthquake caused things to fly off the shelves but did not appear to cause any damage.

Porangahau dairy owner Mahara McDonald also said objects fell from shelves. She had spoken to locals throughout the day and had heard no reports of injuries or major damage.

She said there were varying experiences of the quake: "One woman was mowing her lawns and didn't feel anything until she saw inside that things had come off the shelves. It frightened another woman, she panicked and went down to the river to her husband."

The earthquake was felt throughout Hawke's Bay, and the Geonet website received more than 500 reports from as far afield as Wellington and Taihape.

An earlier magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck at 10.03am near Waipawa, at a depth of 40km. Another at 6.36pm registered 4.2, located 20km southeast of Porongahau.

GNS Science duty seismologist Brian Ferris said the Bay earthquakes were unrelated to the Canterbury event as they were on different fault lines.

Quakes like yesterday's were felt in the area about every two years, and aftershocks would be minimal.

Hawke's Bay Civil Defence emergency management group co-ordinator Nigel Simpson said: "If anyone needs any more reminders to be prepared for an emergency at home and at work, this was it.

"Earthquakes can strike at any time," he said.