New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, was rocked by a strong earthquakecausing some buildings to vibrate and was felt by residents.

The earthquake occurs at a time when the country is recovering from a devastating cyclone in northern New Zealand, killing four and forcing more than 10,500 people to seek shelter.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake had a magnitude of 5.7, with the epicenter in the Cook Strait, which separates the country’s two main islands.

“Big earthquake there! A force of 6.0, 57 km depth, 50 km northwest of Paraparaumu was widely felt in the North Island,” New Zealand’s civil defense agency said.

There was no immediate information on damage and no tsunami warning was issued.

But residents felt a tremor in the ground for 10 to 20 seconds.

He acknowledged that New Zealand has “a long way to go” to deal with damage to roads, homes and bridges from Gabrielle’s passage.

Authorities are beginning to understand the extent of damage in remote locations where flooding has washed away roads and cut connections.

Power was restored to most of the hardest-hit northern part of the country, where some 140,000 people are without power, according to McAnulty.