Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand44y ago
M4.2 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
Sunday, February 13, 1983, 02:00:44 UTC · 29.344°S, 178.335°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Sunday, February 13, 1983, 02:00:44 UTC, at a depth of 353.8 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 354 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 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
55 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: deep
354 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 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 640 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 · 262 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 121 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands regionFebruary 27, 1955 · 289 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 74 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 123 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 96 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 163 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands regionJuly 2, 1974 · 233 km E 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:
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 88 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 162 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 130 km away
tsunami
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 125 km away · intensity VIII
- 1959M7.7
Kermadec Islands
14 Sep 1959 · 160 km away
- 1978M7.7
S Of
9 Feb 1978 · 176 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.