New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern seemed to be relaxed about an earthquake that rattled the country on Friday morning and sent shockwaves through the north and south islands. “A slight distraction”, Ardern said as the tremors shook her podium during an address.

The earthquake, which was felt about an hour before noon, forced Ardern to grab onto her podium as she attended a COVID-19 briefing on Friday. The 41-year-old Prime Minister went to smile and requested an audience member to repeat their question.

“Sorry, a slight distraction … would you mind repeating that question?”, Ardern said, according to reports from Devdiscourse.

Grant Robertson, the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand was also present at the live address and was reportedly unsure about the incident. Ardern informed reporters after the briefing that Robertson initially thought the disruption was caused by strong winds.

According to reports from New Zealand Herald, the magnitude of Friday’s earthquake was measured at 5.5, resulting in tremors across the country and stronger ones in North Island.

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GeoNet, an agency responsible for providing geological hazard information for New Zealand, said that the quake was reported at a depth of 210 kilometers and struck about 30 kilometers southwest of Taumarunui.

The agency also sent out online alerts about the earthquake, to which more than 4,000 responses were recorded. The majority of the responses to the alert came from people residing in the central and lower North Island.

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The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) of New Zealand also had a fun reaction to the incident. The organisation wrote on Twitter, “A bit of a shaky start to a long weekend for many of us. We hope everyone is feeling ok after that. It’s good reminder to practice Drop, Cover and Hold for New Zealand ShakeOut next week.”

No reports of any injuries or damages have emerged so far.