A 5.6 magnitude earthquake centered at the top of the South Island has rocked Wellington, and has been reportedly felt as far afield as Invercargill.

GeoNet said it struck at a depth of 170km, about 75km north of French Pass at 11.53am.

The quake struck as thousands of football fans were heading to Wellington Regional Stadium for the Women’s World Cup quarter-final clash between Spain and the Netherlands, which kicks off at 1pm.

The tremor has been felt widely across central New Zealand, with just under 20,000 people reporting feeling the quake, according to GeoNet.

One Twitter user said it was “rolling and juddery in Wellington”.

One Wellington resident called the shaking “quite a wallop. You could feel it working up to itself before it hit”, despite GeoNet’s description of the tremor as “light”.

“Whoa that was a big one,” said another.

GeoNet said, “shaking like this is a good reminder that earthquakes can occur anywhere in New Zealand at any time”.

“In the event of a large earthquake, remember to drop, cover, and hold.”