Reviewed by USGS20y ago
M3.9 earthquake in Kermadec Islands region
Saturday, July 1, 2006, 20:46:38 UTC · 31.404°S, 179.878°E
A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands region on Saturday, July 1, 2006, 20:46:38 UTC, at a depth of 462.4 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 3.9
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 462 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
11 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
49 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
462 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 1,202 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 279 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands regionMay 16, 2006 · 89 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 282 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJuly 25, 1968 · 200 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandFebruary 9, 1978 · 275 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJune 3, 2001 · 240 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2Kermadec Islands, New ZealandApril 17, 1919 · 223 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1Kermadec Islands, New ZealandJune 29, 1910 · 293 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 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 · 177 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1978M7.7
S Of
9 Feb 1978 · 275 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.