Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand region91y ago
M7.0 earthquake in Auckland Islands, New Zealand region
Saturday, February 22, 1936, 15:32:03 UTC · 49.152°S, 164.172°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck in Auckland Islands, New Zealand region on Saturday, February 22, 1936, 15:32:03 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
415 kilotons of TNT
That is about 28 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 871 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
22 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Australian 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.5 on February 22, 1936. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.7Auckland Islands, New Zealand regionNovember 3, 1918 · 68 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5248 km SW of Bluff, New ZealandFebruary 15, 1922 · 187 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.2Auckland Islands, New Zealand regionAugust 13, 1932 · 26 km E of this epicenter
- 6.0Auckland Islands, New Zealand regionJuly 23, 1928 · 94 km SW 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:
- 1926M7.9
Macquarie Island: North Of
3 Oct 1926 · 232 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.