Reviewed by USGS29y ago
M4.2 earthquake south of the Kermadec Islands
Thursday, June 19, 1997, 16:46:28 UTC · 32.423°S, 179.295°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck south of the Kermadec Islands on Thursday, June 19, 1997, 16:46:28 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
57 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: 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 588 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.1south of the Kermadec IslandsMay 25, 1997 · 58 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMay 20, 1968 · 299 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0Kermadec Islands regionJanuary 26, 1983 · 261 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9Kermadec Islands regionMay 3, 1997 · 143 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9south of the Kermadec IslandsJuly 11, 1943 · 245 km E of this epicenter
- 6.8Kermadec Islands regionNovember 5, 1996 · 155 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8south of the Kermadec IslandsFebruary 17, 1987 · 138 km E of this epicenter
- 6.8south of the Kermadec IslandsJanuary 8, 1970 · 274 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 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 · 283 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.