Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand86y ago
M7.2 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
Saturday, August 2, 1941, 11:41:30 UTC · 29.781°S, 177.597°W
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Saturday, August 2, 1941, 11:41:30 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on November 16, 1917.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
919 kilotons of TNT
That is about 61 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,928 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
116 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
35 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 46 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21917 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeMay 1, 1917 · 181 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 25 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandApril 17, 1919 · 97 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJune 29, 1910 · 134 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJune 13, 1917 · 57 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 19, 1911 · 64 km W of this epicenter
- 6.7Kermadec Islands regionDecember 12, 1928 · 219 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.7Kermadec Islands regionMay 4, 1917 · 277 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 87 km away
tsunami
- 1917M7.5
S Of
16 Nov 1917 · 87 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.