WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck New Zealand 's lower North Island Wednesday, with a jolt rated as moderate by the country's geological sciences agency.

The quake was centered 20 km (12 miles) south of the city of Hastings in the Hawkes Bay region at a depth of 30 km (19 miles), the agency GeoNet said. There were no immediate reports of damage.

The quake, which happened just before 6pm local time, was widely felt by almost 6,000 people who filed reports to the GeoNet website.

Hawkes Bay is one of New Zealand's most seismically active regions. A major earthquake in 1931 killed 256 people.

New Zealand, home to 5 million people, sits on the "Ring of Fire," an arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanoes are common.

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