Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand4y ago
M4.4 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
Tuesday, February 22, 2022, 04:19:58 UTC · 30.463°S, 178.932°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, 04:19:58 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
30 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
10 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 2,414 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 · 232 km E of this epicenter
- 8.12021 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeMarch 4, 2021 · 179 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 258 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6Kermadec Islands regionJuly 6, 2011 · 270 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 125 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 4, 2021 · 137 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands regionMay 16, 2006 · 154 km S of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 246 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 202 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 63 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2021M8.1
Sse Of Raoul Island
4 Mar 2021 · 179 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 233 km away
tsunami
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 175 km away · intensity VIII
- 1959M7.7
Kermadec Islands
14 Sep 1959 · 287 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.