WELLINGTON: A strong 5.9-magnitude earthquake rattled New Zealand on Friday, the US Geological Survey said, with local authorities saying there were no immediate reports of damage despite it being widely felt.

The quake hit at 3:36 pm (0336 GMT) with its epicentre about 66 kilometres (41 miles) from the South Island town of Kaikoura at a depth of 55 kilometres, the USGS said.

The local GeoNet monitoring service measured the quake at 6.3 and said it had been felt across the entire country but was unlikely to cause damage because of its depth.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2015