Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand25y ago
M4.3 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
Monday, August 6, 2001, 15:07:48 UTC · 30.313°S, 177.978°W
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Monday, August 6, 2001, 15:07:48 UTC, at a depth of 250.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 250 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
116 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: intermediate
250 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 50 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on August 9, 2001. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,339 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 · 160 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 212 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7Kermadec Islands regionOctober 20, 1986 · 290 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 53 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 180 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 46 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 56 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands regionJuly 2, 1974 · 239 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1986M8.1
Raoul
20 Oct 1986 · 290 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 135 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 68 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 156 km away
tsunami
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 85 km away · intensity VIII
- 1959M7.7
Kermadec Islands
14 Sep 1959 · 223 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.