Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand51y ago
M6.6 earthquake 86 km N of Te Anau, New Zealand
Tuesday, May 4, 1976, 13:56:29 UTC · 44.642°S, 167.573°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 86 km N of Te Anau, New Zealand on Tuesday, May 4, 1976, 13:56:29 UTC, at a depth of 19.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on September 1, 1945.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · ms
- Depth
- 19 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 kilotons of TNT
That is about 8 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 251 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
9 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Australian and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
19 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 15 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.5173 km WSW of Riverton, New ZealandSeptember 1, 1945 · 290 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.015 km WNW of Te Anau, New ZealandDecember 16, 1938 · 81 km S of this epicenter
- 6.762 km WNW of Te Anau, New ZealandAugust 2, 1943 · 82 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.6115 km WNW of Te Anau, New ZealandDecember 16, 1938 · 89 km W of this epicenter
- 6.280 km WSW of Te Anau, New ZealandApril 20, 1939 · 129 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.288 km W of Riverton, New ZealandSeptember 25, 1968 · 204 km S of this epicenter
- 6.2114 km NW of Arrowtown, New ZealandMay 24, 1960 · 54 km N of this epicenter
- 6.2129 km WNW of Te Anau, New ZealandDecember 31, 1957 · 122 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1826M8.0
Fjordland
1826 · 154 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.