Geonet report that a 5.2M earthquake struck near Mt Ruapehu early this morning.

The quake struck at 1.43am, 35 km west of Ohakune at a depth of 127km.

More than 3000 people from Taranaki, Hawke's Bay and the lower North Island reported on the GeooNet website that they felt the quake.

Mt Ruapehu's volcanic alert level remains at level 1, which means 'minor volcanic unrest'.