Reviewed by USGS36y ago
M6.1 earthquake in Kermadec Islands region
Thursday, November 29, 1990, 20:58:11 UTC · 28.041°S, 179.707°W
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands region on Thursday, November 29, 1990, 20:58:11 UTC, at a depth of 415.0 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on January 14, 1990.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 415 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
21 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 45 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
114 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: deep
415 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 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 405 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 205 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 271 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 260 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 293 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3south of the Fiji IslandsMarch 30, 1972 · 256 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandAugust 2, 1941 · 282 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1Kermadec Islands, New ZealandSeptember 16, 1941 · 217 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1Kermadec Islands, New ZealandDecember 26, 1981 · 284 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 255 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 294 km away
tsunami
- 1959M7.7
Kermadec Islands
14 Sep 1959 · 270 km away
- 1917M7.5
S Of
16 Nov 1917 · 241 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.