Despite large parts of New Zealand's South Island being jolted awake by a shallow magnitude 6.0 quake, it appears the area has come away relatively unscathed.
The quake, which struck just before 7am on Tuesday, was centred 30km west of Arthur's Pass at a depth of 5km.
More than 30 aftershocks have been recorded in the area since.
By mid-afternoon, there had been just a handful of claims made to the Earthquake Commission for damage resulting from the quake, a spokeswoman told AAP.
There have been fewer than 20 calls and most were from Christchurch and the Canterbury area.
GNS Science spokeswoman Caroline Little said it was a significant earthquake.
"On average we would only get two quakes in the 6-6.9 range in New Zealand a year," she said.
"And 5km is quite a shallow quake."
Fiona Neale of the Arthur's Pass Alpine Motel, who was in Christchurch for the 2011 quake, says she got "quite a jolt".
"I was asleep, but a quake like that will wake you up," she told AAP.
"It went for about 15 seconds or so. It was fairly solid."
KiwiRail closed lines in the area after the quake so staff could check for damage.
Bus replacements were organised for passengers and freight services have resumed on the reopened lines.
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