New Zealand capital shaken by quake

A moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 rattled New Zealand’s capital, Wellington.

Emergency services said there were no immediate reports of injury or damage.

The quake, centred near Upper Hutt city, about 12 miles north of Wellington, shook the region at 4.12am local time (1712 Irish Time Friday), earthquake monitoring group, Geological and Nuclear Sciences, reported.

It said the quake, centred 16 miles below the earth’s surface, was likely to have been felt throughout the Wellington region.

New Zealand sits above an area of the earth’s crust where two tectonic plates are colliding and records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year – but only about 150 are felt by residents.

Fewer than 10 a year do any damage.