Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand38y ago
M6.7 earthquake 46 km NNW of Te Anau, New Zealand
Friday, June 3, 1988, 23:27:35 UTC · 45.003°S, 167.599°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 46 km NNW of Te Anau, New Zealand on Friday, June 3, 1988, 23:27:35 UTC, at a depth of 82.7 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on October 12, 1979.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 83 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- 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
169 kilotons of TNT
That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 355 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
41 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: intermediate
83 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 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 28 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 · 255 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4180 km W of Riverton, New ZealandOctober 12, 1979 · 237 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.015 km WNW of Te Anau, New ZealandDecember 16, 1938 · 41 km S of this epicenter
- 6.762 km WNW of Te Anau, New ZealandAugust 2, 1943 · 57 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.686 km N of Te Anau, New ZealandMay 4, 1976 · 40 km N of this epicenter
- 6.6115 km WNW of Te Anau, New ZealandDecember 16, 1938 · 89 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3217 km WSW of Te Anau, New ZealandJanuary 31, 1985 · 229 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.280 km WSW of Te Anau, New ZealandApril 20, 1939 · 98 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1826M8.0
Fjordland
1826 · 123 km away
- 1979M7.5
W Of North Island
12 Oct 1979 · 237 km away · intensity V
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.