Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand5y ago
M4.2 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
Saturday, June 12, 2021, 18:53:12 UTC · 29.599°S, 178.593°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Saturday, June 12, 2021, 18:53:12 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
38 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 2,275 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 · 257 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.12021 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeMarch 4, 2021 · 128 km E of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 159 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7Kermadec Islands regionOctober 20, 1986 · 272 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6Kermadec Islands regionJuly 6, 2011 · 218 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 78 km E of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 4, 2021 · 73 km E of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands regionOctober 21, 2011 · 238 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1986M8.1
Raoul
20 Oct 1986 · 272 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 120 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 135 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2021M8.1
Sse Of Raoul Island
4 Mar 2021 · 129 km away · intensity IX
tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 161 km away
tsunami
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 137 km away · intensity VIII
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.