Kawerau businesses and residents are cleaning up following a swarm of earthquakes in the early hours of Saturday.
Kawerau Hammer Hardware owner Murray Evans says the quakes have knocked some items off shelves into aisles. Staff are keeping the store open on Saturday for emergency requirements only.
SunLive talked with Murray and staff at the Liverpool Street store at 9.24am. They are busy clearing up the aisles, including a tin of paint that opened and some oil spilt, following a 4.7M quake at 8.58am.
A swarm of quakes between 2.5M and 3.7M have been ongoing since 3.29am.
Staff member Carole Meredith says a slip happened earlier on the hillside directly opposite the Hammer Hardware carpark.
“We have recorded more than 40 earthquakes so far, the largest of which have been a M4.8 and M4.6,” says GeoNet.
Road closures on SH34 and SH30 through Rotoma Gorge
Waka Kotahi NZTA have traffic management in place due to road slips between Kawerau and Rotoma.
Credit: sunlive.co.nz