Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand20y ago
M4.4 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
Wednesday, December 13, 2006, 23:13:59 UTC · 30.168°S, 177.427°W
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Wednesday, December 13, 2006, 23:13:59 UTC, at a depth of 39.1 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 39 km
- Shallow
- 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
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
85 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: shallow
39 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
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 M4.8 on December 24, 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 1,520 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 · 136 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 195 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7Kermadec Islands regionOctober 20, 1986 · 250 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands regionFebruary 27, 1955 · 270 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 53 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands regionMay 16, 2006 · 256 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 149 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands, New ZealandMarch 26, 1963 · 31 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1986M8.1
Raoul
20 Oct 1986 · 250 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 109 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 117 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 115 km away
tsunami
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 34 km away · intensity VIII
- 1959M7.7
Kermadec Islands
14 Sep 1959 · 190 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.