Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand80y ago
M6.1 earthquake 53 km NNW of Wanaka, New Zealand
Monday, October 13, 1947, 07:31:22 UTC · 44.234°S, 168.968°E
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 53 km NNW of Wanaka, New Zealand on Monday, October 13, 1947, 07:31:22 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on June 26, 1946.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
24 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 50 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
28 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Australian and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.015 km WNW of Te Anau, New ZealandDecember 16, 1938 · 170 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.762 km WNW of Te Anau, New ZealandAugust 2, 1943 · 194 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.6115 km WNW of Te Anau, New ZealandDecember 16, 1938 · 208 km W of this epicenter
- 6.535 km NNW of Methven, New ZealandJune 26, 1946 · 222 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.280 km WSW of Te Anau, New ZealandApril 20, 1939 · 235 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.154 km NNW of Methven, New ZealandJune 28, 1946 · 229 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1826M8.0
Fjordland
1826 · 261 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.