QuakeScout
Magnitude3.7

Reviewed by USGS49y ago

M3.7 earthquake in Kermadec Islands region

Friday, November 18, 1977, 03:41:24 UTC · 27.186°S, 176.937°W

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands region on Friday, November 18, 1977, 03:41:24 UTC, at a depth of 426.0 km (deep).

Magnitude
3.7
Minor · mb
Depth
426 km
Deep
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

5 tons of TNT

That is about 1/2,814 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 89 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

116 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: deep

426 km

Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.

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 M4.8 on December 14, 1977. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M51h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M3.7
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.8Kermadec Islands region49y ago · 45 km E of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 265 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 155 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 7.6south of the Fiji IslandsDecember 18, 1963 · 271 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.5Kermadec Islands regionFebruary 27, 1955 · 184 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 186 km S of this epicenter
  5. 7.3south of the Fiji IslandsJanuary 20, 1970 · 145 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.2south of the Fiji IslandsNovember 24, 1960 · 287 km N of this epicenter
  7. 7.2Kermadec Islands regionJuly 2, 1974 · 232 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.2south of TongaOctober 10, 1977 · 212 km NE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1976M7.9

    Kermadec Islands

    14 Jan 1976 · 228 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1917M8.0

    Kermadec Islands

    1 May 1917 · 224 km away

    tsunami

  3. 1955M7.8

    Kermadec Islands

    27 Feb 1955 · 168 km away

  4. 1959M7.7

    Kermadec Islands

    14 Sep 1959 · 146 km away

  5. 1917M7.5

    S Of

    16 Nov 1917 · 209 km away

    tsunami

  6. 1961M7.5

    Kermadec Islands

    7 Mar 1961 · 174 km away

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

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