QuakeScout
Magnitude5.0

Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand37y ago

M5.0 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand

Tuesday, June 6, 1989, 13:17:55 UTC · 30.585°S, 178.337°W

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Tuesday, June 6, 1989, 13:17:55 UTC, at a depth of 241.9 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on May 21, 1989.

Magnitude
5.0
Moderate · mb
Depth
242 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

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

89 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

242 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on June 12, 1989. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M51h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M5.0
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 5.6Kermadec Islands, New Zealand37y ago · 72 km NW of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 947 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.21917 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeMay 1, 1917 · 174 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 249 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 95 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 223 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 92 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 30 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.2Kermadec Islands regionJuly 2, 1974 · 284 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandFebruary 9, 1978 · 94 km E 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:

  1. 1976M7.9

    Kermadec Islands

    14 Jan 1976 · 177 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  2. 1968M7.3

    S Of, Raoul

    25 Jul 1968 · 25 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  3. 1917M8.0

    Kermadec Islands

    1 May 1917 · 201 km away

    tsunami

  4. 1976M7.8

    Kermadec Islands

    14 Jan 1976 · 130 km away · intensity VIII

  5. 1959M7.7

    Kermadec Islands

    14 Sep 1959 · 265 km away

  6. 1978M7.7

    S Of

    9 Feb 1978 · 94 km away

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages