Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand16y ago
M4.2 earthquake 80 km NNE of Amberley, New Zealand
Monday, September 27, 2010, 08:48:33 UTC · 42.454°S, 172.987°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 80 km NNE of Amberley, New Zealand on Monday, September 27, 2010, 08:48:33 UTC, at a depth of 7.8 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · ml
- Depth
- 8 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
4 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Australian and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
8 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 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 91 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.368 km S of Wakefield, New ZealandJune 16, 1929 · 54 km N of this epicenter
- 7.138 km E of Westport, New ZealandMay 23, 1968 · 111 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.030 km NW of Amberley, New ZealandMarch 9, 1929 · 74 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.025 km SE of Masterton, New ZealandJune 24, 1942 · 277 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.019 km NE of Methven, New ZealandSeptember 3, 2010 · 152 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.815 km SSE of Levin, New ZealandAugust 1, 1942 · 272 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.856 km NW of Oxford, New ZealandJune 18, 1994 · 122 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.535 km NNW of Methven, New ZealandJune 26, 1946 · 161 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 23 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1929M7.5
South Island
16 Jun 1929 · 99 km away
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1968M7.1
South Island: Nw Coast
23 May 1968 · 117 km away
3 deaths$3 million damage
- 1848M6.0
Awatere River, Marlborough
18 Oct 1848 · 121 km away
3 deathstsunami
- 2010M7.0
Christchurch
3 Sep 2010 · 152 km away · intensity IX
$6.5 billion damage
- 1855M8.0
Wellington,Waiouru,Wanganui,Otaki
23 Jan 1855 · 214 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1991M5.6
Wellington, Wanganui
8 Sep 1991 · 300 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.