Reviewed by USGS37y ago
M4.8 earthquake in Kermadec Islands region
Thursday, May 25, 1989, 06:46:26 UTC · 31.029°S, 177.764°W
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands region on Thursday, May 25, 1989, 06:46:26 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on May 23, 1989.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · ms
- Depth
- 33 km
- Shallow
- 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
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
75 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
33 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 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 933 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 · 107 km E of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 290 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 131 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 249 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 116 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 44 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands regionJuly 2, 1974 · 278 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandFebruary 9, 1978 · 55 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 207 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 66 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 216 km away
tsunami
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 133 km away · intensity VIII
- 1959M7.7
Kermadec Islands
14 Sep 1959 · 291 km away
- 1978M7.7
S Of
9 Feb 1978 · 55 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.