'You see things moving behind me': New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern stays calm during a live TV interview as Wellington is rattled by a magnitude 5.9 earthquake

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern kept her cool when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the middle of a live TV interview on Monday.

The earthquake, recorded at a depth of 31 miles (50km), hit Wellington, on New Zealand's North Island, on Monday morning, but was felt as far as Dunedin, which is at the tip of the South Island. 

Ms Ardern's reaction to the strong shake was caught on camera as she was being interviewed live from the government building dubbed 'the Beehive' on Channel Three when it hit.

She interrupted Newshub host Ryan Bridge to tell him what was happening at the parliament complex in Wellington. 

'We're just having a bit of an earthquake here ... quite a decent shake here. If you see things moving behind me,' she said. 

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Ms Ardern was being interviewed live from the government building dubbed 'the Beehive' on channel Three when it hit

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The quake struck near Wellington (pictured), on New Zealand's North Island at 7.53am on Monday

A strong earthquake struck New Zealand's North Island this morning

'The Beehive moves a little more than most,' she said, referring to the building where the government is based. 

'It's just stopped. No, we're fine. I'm not under any hanging lights, I look like I'm in a structurally sound place.' 

Ardern said later that the thought going through her head when the quake struck was: 'Are you serious?'

A 2011 quake in the city of Christchurch killed 185 people and destroyed much of the downtown area. The city is continuing to rebuild.

According to Geonet, today's shake was felt as far as Gisborne, on the North Island, all the way down to the bottom of the South Island. 

Two small aftershocks also struck the area, the first was a 3.5-magnitude quake, followed a 3.7-magnitude shake.

'That was a long and jerky rumble - things are still shaking at ours in Wellington - cats and dog all reacted,' one person wrote on Twitter.

'Slept through my alarm, but an earthquake will certainly wake you up,' another person wrote.

'Horrifying waking up to a big earthquake, great alarm clock though I'm super awake now,' said another.

'Do you think Jacinda felt that and thought 'you've got to be f***ing kidding me'',' wrote another. 

Another Twitter user, Jords, compared the quake with coronavirus. 'I believe after earthquake and plague, the next one is frogs,' he wrote.

Horowhenua District Mayor Bernie Wanden said staff were checking infrastructure for any damage.

Wellington City Council said there have been no immediate reports of damage.

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According to Geonet the shake was felt as far as Gisborne, on the North Island, all the way down to the bottom of the South Island

Ardern has already won admiration around the world for her handling of the epidemic, which has almost come to a standstill in New Zealand.  

The country shut its borders and imposed drastic lockdown measures at a very early stage in the crisis, and now has only 1,504 cases and 21 deaths. 

Only one new case has been reported in the last six days, and the last death from Covid-19 was announced on May 6. 

There are only 27 people currently sick with the disease, with only one in hospital who is not in intensive care. 

New Zealand's health ministry says 38 per cent of its total cases have come from abroad, with another 31 per cent linked to those - meaning that only a few hundred cases were transmitted at home.  

The limit on public gatherings has now been raised from 10 to 100 as the country continues to ease lockdown measures.  

A recent poll showed Ardern's popularity soaring ahead of parliamentary elections which are due in September.