M5.7 earthquake 144 km E of Gisborne, New Zealand

Friday, May 10, 1929, 17:17:35 UTC · 38.892°S, 179.640°E

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 144 km E of Gisborne, New Zealand on Friday, May 10, 1929, 17:17:35 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on February 25, 1927.

Magnitude: 5.7; Moderate · 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

5 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 10 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

35 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 75 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1914
North Island
6 Oct 1914 · 175 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1904M7.5
E Of North Island
8 Aug 1904 · 288 km away
tsunami
1880M7.0
Gisborne
8 Sep 1880 · 69 km away
tsunami
1855M5.5
New Zealand
11 Feb 1855 · 179 km away
tsunami
1831
North Island: Poverty Bay
1831 · 144 km away
tsunami

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

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