QuakeScout
Magnitude6.3

Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand93y ago

M6.3 earthquake 7 km WNW of Hastings, New Zealand

Thursday, March 15, 1934, 10:46:43 UTC · 39.606°S, 176.772°E

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 7 km WNW of Hastings, New Zealand on Thursday, March 15, 1934, 10:46:43 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on March 5, 1934.

Magnitude
6.3
Strong · mw
Depth
25 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
VI
Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

43 kilotons of TNT

That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

75 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

25 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 22 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.447 km WSW of Hastings, New ZealandFebruary 2, 1931 · 42 km W of this epicenter
  2. 7.340 km E of Waiouru, New ZealandFebruary 13, 1931 · 59 km W of this epicenter
  3. 7.239 km SE of Palmerston North, New ZealandMarch 5, 1934 · 131 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.044 km N of Whakatane, New ZealandNovember 22, 1914 · 227 km N of this epicenter
  5. 6.9144 km SE of Waipawa, New ZealandAugust 8, 1904 · 287 km S of this epicenter
  6. 6.962 km S of Gisborne, New ZealandSeptember 15, 1932 · 120 km E of this epicenter
  7. 6.856 km SSE of Castlepoint, New ZealandAugust 5, 1917 · 199 km S of this epicenter
  8. 6.75 km SSW of Hastings, New ZealandJune 28, 1921 · 10 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 262 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1931M7.7

    Hawke Bay

    2 Feb 1931 · 67 km away · intensity IX

    261 deaths$25 million damagetsunami

  2. 1914

    North Island

    6 Oct 1914 · 236 km away · intensity VIII

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1855M8.0

    Wellington,Waiouru,Wanganui,Otaki

    23 Jan 1855 · 236 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1932M6.8

    Gisborne, Wairoa

    15 Sep 1932 · 92 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1848M7.9

    N.

    15 Oct 1848 · 269 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1843M7.5

    Wanganui

    8 Jul 1843 · 155 km away

    tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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