New Zealand earthquake leaves victims 'unable to stand up'

New Zealand has been rocked by an earthquake so strong it's left people "unable to stand up".

The frightening tremble which struck Manawatū-Whanganui before midnight (local time) has been recorded as a magnitude 5.1 on the Richter scale. Approximately 1.2 million people in the region will have been exposed to the shaking.

Reporting on the shocking experience, X user Luke Chandler said his friend was just a few kilometres from the earthquake's epicentre.

He wrote: "A friend only a few km from the epicentre reports that it was strong enough to be a struggle to stand up, hope everyone in the Manawatū is able to get to sleep after that."

Reporting data collected by EMSC, Earthquake Alerts on X says the earthquake took place 34km NNW of Hokowhitu and had a depth of 46.6km.

According to earthquakelist.org, with just 17 miles between it and the earthquake's epicentre, Linton Military Camp is the closest significant population to the shaking in Manawatu-Wanganui.

As a result those living there will have probably endured level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale which translates as light shaking, likely no damage.

There's been some earthquake action a bit closer to home, too, although its impact can't exactly be compared to that Down Under.

The UK had its biggest earthquake of the year on Sunday which was also the 14th since the start of 2025. According to the British Geological Society the latest quake measured 3.0 on the Richter scale and was recorded just off the coast near Norwich.