Reviewed by USGS30y ago
M4.2 earthquake in Kermadec Islands region
Monday, December 2, 1996, 12:13:16 UTC · 30.725°S, 179.569°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands region on Monday, December 2, 1996, 12:13:16 UTC, at a depth of 450.0 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 450 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
104 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
450 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 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 779 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 267 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 277 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 219 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandFebruary 9, 1978 · 294 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandAugust 2, 1941 · 292 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandApril 17, 1919 · 234 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1Kermadec Islands, New ZealandSeptember 26, 1968 · 232 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1Kermadec Islands, New ZealandDecember 26, 1981 · 273 km E 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:
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 194 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1978M7.7
S Of
9 Feb 1978 · 294 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.