Reviewed by USGS20y ago
M4.6 earthquake in Kermadec Islands region
Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 14:42:45 UTC · 31.428°S, 179.541°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands region on Wednesday, June 28, 2006, 14:42:45 UTC, at a depth of 93.5 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on June 22, 2006.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 94 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
2 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: intermediate
94 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on July 15, 2006. 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 1,338 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 · 276 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 239 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands regionMay 16, 2006 · 48 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 239 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 150 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandFebruary 9, 1978 · 224 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJune 3, 2001 · 214 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandAugust 2, 1941 · 261 km NE 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 · 129 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 278 km away · intensity VIII
- 1978M7.7
S Of
9 Feb 1978 · 224 km away
- 1943M7.6
S Of
14 Sep 1943 · 290 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.