Reviewed by USGS25y ago
M4.8 earthquake in Kermadec Islands region
Friday, June 8, 2001, 23:07:43 UTC · 30.621°S, 179.173°W
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands region on Friday, June 8, 2001, 23:07:43 UTC, at a depth of 343.3 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on June 3, 2001.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 343 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
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
11 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
343 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 1,228 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 · 249 km E of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 285 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 154 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 274 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 160 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 100 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandFebruary 9, 1978 · 174 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 3, 1995 · 219 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 · 230 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 77 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 262 km away
tsunami
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 203 km away · intensity VIII
- 1978M7.7
S Of
9 Feb 1978 · 174 km away
- 1943M7.6
S Of
14 Sep 1943 · 220 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.