Reviewed by USGS14y ago
M5.1 earthquake in Kermadec Islands region
Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 22:13:18 UTC · 30.267°S, 175.874°W
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in Kermadec Islands region on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 22:13:18 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on April 23, 2012.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 10 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
58 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
10 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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.1 on May 27, 2012. 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 1,502 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 · 127 km SW of this epicenter
- 8.01976 Kermadec Islands, New Zealand EarthquakeJanuary 14, 1976 · 268 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7Kermadec Islands regionOctober 20, 1986 · 244 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6Kermadec Islands regionJuly 6, 2011 · 93 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands regionFebruary 27, 1955 · 216 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5Kermadec Islands, New ZealandNovember 16, 1917 · 195 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4Kermadec Islands regionOctober 21, 2011 · 146 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3Kermadec Islands regionSeptember 14, 1959 · 205 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 · 244 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1976M7.9
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 193 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1968M7.3
S Of, Raoul
25 Jul 1968 · 249 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1917M8.0
Kermadec Islands
1 May 1917 · 161 km away
tsunami
- 1955M7.8
Kermadec Islands
27 Feb 1955 · 255 km away
- 1976M7.8
Kermadec Islands
14 Jan 1976 · 135 km away · intensity VIII
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.