Hundreds of people are reporting feeling an earthquake in the Bay of Plenty on Wednesday afternoon.

GeoNet says the earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 struck 30km west of Te Kaha at 3.44pm.

The quake has a focal depth of 56km.

More than 1700 people predominantly from the Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay regions have reported feeling it, with over 1400 reporting it as 'light' or 'weak'.