Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand95y ago
M6.9 earthquake 62 km S of Gisborne, New Zealand
Thursday, September 15, 1932, 13:54:56 UTC · 39.210°S, 178.069°E
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 62 km S of Gisborne, New Zealand on Thursday, September 15, 1932, 13:54:56 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on February 13, 1931.
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very 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
338 kilotons of TNT
That is about 22 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 708 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
88 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec 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 21 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.447 km WSW of Hastings, New ZealandFebruary 2, 1931 · 162 km W of this epicenter
- 7.340 km E of Waiouru, New ZealandFebruary 13, 1931 · 169 km W of this epicenter
- 7.044 km N of Whakatane, New ZealandNovember 22, 1914 · 209 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.856 km SSE of Castlepoint, New ZealandAugust 5, 1917 · 277 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.75 km SSW of Hastings, New ZealandJune 28, 1921 · 119 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.748 km ENE of Opotiki, New ZealandOctober 6, 1914 · 145 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5105 km SSE of Hastings, New ZealandApril 22, 1931 · 146 km S of this epicenter
- 6.4off the east coast of the North Island of New ZealandFebruary 8, 1931 · 85 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 262 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1931M7.7
Hawke Bay
2 Feb 1931 · 186 km away · intensity IX
261 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1914
North Island
6 Oct 1914 · 157 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M6.8
Gisborne, Wairoa
15 Sep 1932 · 54 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1843M7.5
Wanganui
8 Jul 1843 · 274 km away
tsunami
- 1904M7.5
E Of North Island
8 Aug 1904 · 170 km away
tsunami
- 1931M7.1
N
13 Feb 1931 · 97 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.