NZ hit by 5.1 magnitude earthquake

The North Island of New Zealand has been rocked by a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, local media is reporting.

(AAP)

New Zealand’s North Island has been hit by a 5.1 earthquake.

The quake struck west of Murupara, in the Bay of Plenty region, about 2.14 pm local time, according to GeoNet.

A short time later, the hashtag '#eqnz' began trending on Twitter. 

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