Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand40y ago
M5.0 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
Monday, January 19, 1987, 19:40:39 UTC · 29.106°S, 178.083°W
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Monday, January 19, 1987, 19:40:39 UTC, at a depth of 90.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on January 13, 1987.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 90 km
- Intermediate
- 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
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
71 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: intermediate
90 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 870 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 · 270 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 86 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7Kermadec Islands regionOctober 20, 1986 · 200 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands regionFebruary 27, 1955 · 257 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 86 km S of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 90 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 106 km S of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 188 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1986M8.1
Raoul
20 Oct 1986 · 200 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 63 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 191 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 106 km away
tsunami
- 1955M7.8
Kermadec Islands
27 Feb 1955 · 281 km away
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 123 km away · intensity VIII
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.