Reviewed by USGSNew Zealand14y ago
M4.6 earthquake in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 12:19:12 UTC · 29.725°S, 177.157°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 12:19:12 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on February 12, 2012.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
79 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 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 1,780 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 · 170 km S of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 152 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7Kermadec Islands regionOctober 20, 1986 · 195 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6Kermadec Islands regionJuly 6, 2011 · 82 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands regionFebruary 27, 1955 · 216 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 67 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands regionOctober 21, 2011 · 121 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 99 km N 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 · 195 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 66 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 169 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 60 km away
tsunami
- 1955M7.8
Kermadec Islands
27 Feb 1955 · 251 km away
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 23 km away · intensity VIII
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.