QuakeScout
Magnitude4.1

Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand15y ago

M4.1 earthquake 19 km NW of Oxford, New Zealand

Thursday, February 3, 2011, 18:32:50 UTC · 43.162°S, 172.033°E

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 19 km NW of Oxford, New Zealand on Thursday, February 3, 2011, 18:32:50 UTC, at a depth of 9.1 km (shallow).

Magnitude
4.1
Light · mwr
Depth
9 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

21 tons of TNT

That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

62 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

9 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 69 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.368 km S of Wakefield, New ZealandJune 16, 1929 · 161 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.138 km E of Westport, New ZealandMay 23, 1968 · 160 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.030 km NW of Amberley, New ZealandMarch 9, 1929 · 38 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.019 km NE of Methven, New ZealandSeptember 3, 2010 · 43 km S of this epicenter
  5. 6.856 km NW of Oxford, New ZealandJune 18, 1994 · 38 km NW of this epicenter
  6. 6.535 km NNW of Methven, New ZealandJune 26, 1946 · 52 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 6.558 km SW of Wakefield, New ZealandJune 22, 1929 · 157 km N of this epicenter
  8. 6.471 km NNE of Amberley, New ZealandMay 22, 1948 · 106 km NE 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 209 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 2011M6.1

    Christchurch, Lyttelton

    21 Feb 2011 · 70 km away

    185 deaths$15 billion damagetsunami

  2. 1929M7.5

    South Island

    16 Jun 1929 · 158 km away

    17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1968M7.1

    South Island: Nw Coast

    23 May 1968 · 163 km away

    3 deaths$3 million damage

  4. 1848M6.0

    Awatere River, Marlborough

    18 Oct 1848 · 231 km away

    3 deathstsunami

  5. 2011M6.0

    South Island: Canterbury

    13 Jun 2011 · 73 km away

    1 death$3.0 billion damage

  6. 2010M7.0

    Christchurch

    3 Sep 2010 · 43 km away · intensity IX

    $6.5 billion damage

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages