Reviewed by USGS15y ago
M4.2 earthquake in Kermadec Islands region
Sunday, December 11, 2011, 05:14:46 UTC · 29.625°S, 176.207°W
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands region on Sunday, December 11, 2011, 05:14:46 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 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
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
1 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
35 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 14 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on December 15, 2011. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.8Kermadec Islands region14y ago · 3 km N of this epicenter
- 5.0Kermadec Islands region14y ago · 17 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.9Kermadec Islands region14y ago · 31 km N of this epicenter
- 4.8Kermadec Islands region14y ago · 12 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.4Kermadec Islands region14y ago · 24 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.5Kermadec Islands region14y ago · 42 km S of this epicenter
- 4.8Kermadec Islands region14y ago · 22 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.2Kermadec Islands region14y ago · 18 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,624 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 · 180 km S of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 194 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7Kermadec Islands regionOctober 20, 1986 · 168 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6Kermadec Islands regionJuly 6, 2011 · 16 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands regionFebruary 27, 1955 · 155 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 160 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands regionOctober 21, 2011 · 70 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 131 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1986M8.1
Raoul
20 Oct 1986 · 168 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 129 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 248 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 90 km away
tsunami
- 1955M7.8
Kermadec Islands
27 Feb 1955 · 193 km away
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 103 km away · intensity VIII
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.