"Keep Calm and Carry On" is much overused but, boy, it's perfect for this situation.

When the deadly magnitude 7.5 quake struck a little after midnight today, RNZ All Night presenter Vicki McKay was in the middle of reading a news bulletin.

She had just finished detailing the White Ferns defeat of England in their latest cricket match when things got very interesting.

McKay's very calm response earned her many big plaudits online:

Nerves of steel from 4 mins 24 secs onwards. https://t.co/LIIhho4Adb https://t.co/eeUvfXqZZN — Bernard Hickey (@bernardchickey) November 13, 2016

Deep admiration for the @radionz broadcaster who finished the headlines before calmly mentioning a whopping quake https://t.co/idO1oPd2rm — snarkov bot (@petrajane) November 13, 2016

@radionz's Vicki McKay is a bloody national treasure - reading the news as a 7.6 #Quake2016 hits - at 4m20shttps://t.co/KHhVwaPU4F — Michael Field (@MichaelFieldNZ) November 13, 2016