Jacinda Ardern was forced to halt a live TV interview this morning after an earthquake struck the lower half of New Zealand's North Island while she was live.

The New Zealand Prime Minister was giving her weekly live interview from parliament to the AM Show when the quake struck.

According to GeoNet, the 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck 30km northwest of Levin, at a depth of 37km just before 8am.

"We're just having a bit of an earthquake here, Ryan," Ms Arden told the show's host as the camera was shaking.

"Quite a decent shake here … if you see things moving behind here."

Ms Ardern was being interviewed in the executive government building known as "the Beehive" when the earthquake struck.

Asked if she was feeling safe enough to continue the interview after the shaking stopped, the Prime Minister said she was and calmly carried on.

"We're fine, Ryan. We're not under any hanging lights. It looks like I'm in a structurally sound place," Ms Ardern said. "The Beehive moves a little more than most."

In the country's capital, the earthquake brought sustained shaking for around 15 seconds as Kiwis got ready at 7.53am NZST.

More than 32,000 people reported to feel the earthquake, most of whom were in Wellington.

On social media, many joked that Ms Ardern might be handling the latest in a series of disasters.

Originally published as Earthquake interrupts Jacinda's interview