Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand91y ago
M6.6 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
Saturday, December 26, 1936, 22:52:34 UTC · 30.713°S, 178.150°W
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Saturday, December 26, 1936, 22:52:34 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on February 13, 1925.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · 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
124 kilotons of TNT
That is about 8 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 260 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
109 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Australian 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 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 38 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 · 152 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 101 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandApril 17, 1919 · 21 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJune 29, 1910 · 103 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJune 13, 1917 · 166 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 19, 1911 · 105 km N of this epicenter
- 6.6Kermadec Islands regionFebruary 13, 1925 · 279 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.6Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJune 29, 1910 · 70 km SE 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 · 201 km away
tsunami
- 1917M7.5
S Of
16 Nov 1917 · 201 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.