Reviewed by USGS51y ago
M6.2 earthquake in Kermadec Islands region
Sunday, February 15, 1976, 21:23:22 UTC · 28.385°S, 176.791°W
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands region on Sunday, February 15, 1976, 21:23:22 UTC, at a depth of 54.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on January 24, 1976.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · ms
- Depth
- 54 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: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 63 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
83 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
54 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 100 km
USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.3 on February 29, 1976. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.9Kermadec Islands region51y ago · 86 km S of this epicenter
- 5.2Kermadec Islands region51y ago · 22 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.3Kermadec Islands region51y ago · 54 km W of this epicenter
- 5.3Kermadec Islands region51y ago · 82 km W of this epicenter
- 4.4Kermadec Islands region51y ago · 66 km E of this epicenter
- 4.7Kermadec Islands region51y ago · 87 km SE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 306 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 85 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands regionFebruary 27, 1955 · 117 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 192 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 65 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 198 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 299 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3south of the Fiji IslandsJanuary 20, 1970 · 279 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands regionJuly 2, 1974 · 113 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 110 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 93 km away
tsunami
- 1955M7.8
Kermadec Islands
27 Feb 1955 · 134 km away
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 176 km away · intensity VIII
- 1959M7.7
Kermadec Islands
14 Sep 1959 · 24 km away
- 1943M7.6
S Of
14 Sep 1943 · 181 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.