Aftershocks are continuing to shake the upper North Island following the 5.1 magnitude earthquake which hit Te Aroha in the early hours of this morning.

The strong earthquake has a depth of 6km and was located 5km south of Te Aroha.

According to Geonet, a magnitude 3.9 aftershock earthquake hit 5km south of Te Aroha at 11.21am.

Nearly 3000 people have reportedly felt the shock, according to the Geonet website.

The aftershock had moderate shaking, and a depth of 5km.

A slightly weaker, magnitude 2.6 quake also caused weak shaking near Te Aroha soon after at 12.19pm, along with another magnitude 2.5 quake at 12.47pm in the same location.

A shallow M3.9 aftershock was felt by >2.9k folks across Waikato and Coromandel. This was likely on the same fault system as this morning's M5.1 and the M3.9 last week.

We expect aftershocks like this to occur over the next hours and days, with frequency and size tapering off. pic.twitter.com/pQZn4ODifm

— GeoNet (@geonet) January 3, 2023

"We expect aftershocks like this to occur over the next hours and days, with frequency and size tapering off," says a post to the GeoNet Twitter.