Reviewed by USGS20y ago
M5.0 earthquake south of the Kermadec Islands
Tuesday, June 6, 2006, 07:13:14 UTC · 32.103°S, 178.191°W
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck south of the Kermadec Islands on Tuesday, June 6, 2006, 07:13:14 UTC, at a depth of 143.1 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on May 29, 2006.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 143 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
52 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Kermadec and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
143 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,398 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 · 177 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 253 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands regionMay 16, 2006 · 110 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 240 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 145 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandFebruary 9, 1978 · 177 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJune 3, 2001 · 274 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandAugust 2, 1941 · 264 km N 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:
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 146 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 259 km away · intensity VIII
- 1978M7.7
S Of
9 Feb 1978 · 177 km away
- 1943M7.6
S Of
14 Sep 1943 · 260 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.