Reviewed by USGS6y ago
M4.3 earthquake south of the Kermadec Islands
Tuesday, July 14, 2020, 04:16:59 UTC · 33.174°S, 179.228°W
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck south of the Kermadec Islands on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, 04:16:59 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
102 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
35 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on August 4, 2020. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,382 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4south of the Kermadec IslandsJune 18, 2020 · 128 km E of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands regionMay 16, 2006 · 152 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 283 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1south of the Kermadec IslandsMay 25, 1997 · 149 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMay 20, 1968 · 281 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMay 20, 1968 · 288 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 9, 1998 · 300 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9Kermadec Islands regionMay 3, 1997 · 154 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 275 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2020M7.4
S Of, Raoul
18 Jun 2020 · 128 km away · intensity VII
tsunami
- 2019M7.2
S Of, Raoul
15 Jun 2019 · 284 km away
tsunami
- 2013M6.5
S Of, Raoul
30 Sep 2013 · 264 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.