QuakeScout
Magnitude6.1

Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand96y ago

M6.1 earthquake 180 km ENE of Gisborne, New Zealand

Monday, June 22, 1931, 15:31:00 UTC · 38.269°S, 179.989°W

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 180 km ENE of Gisborne, New Zealand on Monday, June 22, 1931, 15:31:00 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on May 6, 1931.

Magnitude
6.1
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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

19 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 39 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

39 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 12 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.044 km N of Whakatane, New ZealandNovember 22, 1914 · 283 km W of this epicenter
  2. 6.748 km ENE of Opotiki, New ZealandOctober 6, 1914 · 195 km W of this epicenter
  3. 6.4off the east coast of the North Island of New ZealandFebruary 8, 1931 · 283 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 6.4east of the North Island of New ZealandSeptember 22, 1930 · 289 km N of this epicenter
  5. 6.4224 km E of Gisborne, New ZealandOctober 28, 1914 · 74 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 6.2off the east coast of the North Island of New ZealandMarch 8, 1931 · 260 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 6.254 km NNE of Gisborne, New ZealandFebruary 25, 1927 · 150 km W of this epicenter
  8. 6.2174 km ESE of Hastings, New ZealandFebruary 11, 1931 · 270 km SW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1914

    North Island

    6 Oct 1914 · 167 km away · intensity VIII

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1931M7.1

    N

    13 Feb 1931 · 294 km away

    tsunami

  3. 1880M7.0

    Gisborne

    8 Sep 1880 · 120 km away

    tsunami

  4. 1855M5.5

    New Zealand

    11 Feb 1855 · 233 km away

    tsunami

  5. 1831

    North Island: Poverty Bay

    1831 · 181 km away

    tsunami

  6. 1931

    N

    19 Feb 1931 · 294 km away

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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