M4.9 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand

Friday, May 20, 2022, 06:57:33 UTC · 30.073°S, 177.567°W

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Friday, May 20, 2022, 06:57:33 UTC, at a depth of 26.4 km (shallow). USGS received 1 “Did You Feel It?” report, with a maximum reported intensity of VII (very strong). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on May 15, 2022.

Magnitude: 4.9; Light · mb
Depth: 26 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 1; Max intensity VII
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

338 tons of TNT

That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

102 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Pacific plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

26 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

1 people reported feeling this earthquake to USGS; a per-place breakdown is not available 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 lists 12 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on June 8, 2022. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 2,474 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 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

1986M8.1
Raoul
20 Oct 1986 · 247 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 99 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 114 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
2021M8.1
Sse Of Raoul Island
4 Mar 2021 · 47 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 111 km away
tsunami
1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 37 km away · intensity VIII

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

Nearby trackers