This is a list of major earthquakes which have occurred in New Zealand. Only earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 or greater are listed, unless they had a moderate impact.
Aftershocks are not included, unless they were of great significance or contributed to a death toll, such as the M 6.3 2011 Christchurch earthquake or the M 7.3 aftershock to the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake.
Pre-19th century
19th century
1900 to 1949
Date |
Location |
Region |
Magnitude (ML) |
Magnitude (MW) |
Depth |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Fatalities |
Further information |
16 Nov 1901 |
Cheviot |
North Canterbury |
6.8 |
|
12 km |
42.74°S |
173.35°E |
1 |
1901 Cheviot earthquake |
22 Nov 1914 |
Tauranga |
Bay of Plenty |
7.3 |
|
300 km |
37.49°S |
176.50°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island |
1 May 1917 |
Raoul Island |
Kermadec Islands |
|
8.0 |
50 km |
29.00°S |
177.00°W |
|
Felt throughout New Zealand[12] |
28 Jun 1921 |
Kaweka Forest |
Hawke's Bay |
7.0 |
|
80 km |
39.29°S |
176.40°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island |
25 Dec 1922 |
Motunau |
North Canterbury |
6.4 |
|
20 km |
42.99°S |
173.00°E |
|
Felt throughout Upper half of South Island |
9 Mar 1929 |
Arthur's Pass |
Canterbury |
7.0 |
|
12 km |
42.83°S |
171.83°E |
|
1929 Arthur's Pass earthquake |
17 Jun 1929 |
Murchison |
West Coast |
7.3 |
7.8 |
20 km |
41.69°S |
172.20°E |
17 |
1929 Murchison earthquake |
12 Feb 1930 |
Porangahau |
Hawke's Bay |
6.2 |
|
33 km |
40.39°S |
176.55°E |
|
Felt throughout Lower half of North Island/Hawke's Bay |
3 Feb 1931 |
North of Napier |
Hawke's Bay |
7.4 |
7.8 |
20 km |
39.29°S |
177.00°E |
256 |
1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake |
13 Feb 1931 |
East of Napier |
Hawke's Bay |
7.3 |
|
30 km |
39.55°S |
177.31°E |
|
Aftershock to M 7.4 event |
15 Sep 1932 |
Wairoa |
Hawke's Bay |
6.9 |
|
12 km |
38.95°S |
177.59°E |
|
Caused further damage to the already devastated Hawke's Bay region. |
5 Mar 1934 |
Pahiatua |
Manawatu |
7.2 |
|
12 km |
40.54°S |
176.29°E |
2 |
1934 Pahiatua earthquake |
15 Mar 1934 |
Wairoa |
Hawke's Bay |
6.3 |
|
25 km |
39.31°S |
177.23°E |
|
Felt strongly in Hawke's Bay and Gisborne |
24 May 1936 |
Whakatane |
Bay of Plenty |
6.5 |
|
150 km |
37.99°S |
177.00°E |
|
Felt in North Island |
16 Dec 1938 |
Fiordland |
Southland |
7.0 |
|
60 km |
44.99°S |
167.00°E |
|
Felt throughout South Island |
26 Feb 1940 |
Hastings |
Hawke's Bay |
6.0 |
|
25 km |
39.50°S |
176.50°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island |
24 Jun 1942 |
Masterton |
Wairarapa |
6.5 |
|
12 km |
40.95°S |
175.68°E |
|
June 1942 Wairarapa earthquake |
1 Aug 1942 |
Masterton |
Wairarapa |
6.8 |
|
40 km |
41.01°S |
175.51°E |
1 |
August 1942 Wairarapa earthquake |
17 Feb 1943 |
Te Anau |
Southland |
6.5 |
|
123 km |
45.29°S |
168.00°E |
|
Felt throughout South Island |
25 Feb 1943 |
Wellington |
Wairarapa |
5.8 |
|
60 km |
41.36°S, |
174.95°E |
|
Felt strongly in Wellington |
23 Jun 1946 |
Lake Hawea |
Canterbury |
5.9 |
|
50 km |
44.22°S, |
169.36°E |
|
Felt West Coast/Canterbury |
26 Jun 1946 |
Lake Coleridge |
Canterbury |
6.2 |
|
12 km |
43.30°S |
171.47°E |
|
Mainshock |
26 Mar 1947 |
Offshore Poverty Bay |
Gisborne |
7.1 |
|
|
38.55°S |
178.42°E |
|
1947 Gisborne earthquakes and tsunami |
17 May 1947 |
Offshore Tolaga Bay |
Gisborne |
7.1 |
|
|
38.21°S |
178.60°E |
|
1947 Gisborne earthquakes and tsunami |
22 May 1948 |
Hanmer Springs |
North Canterbury |
5.9 |
|
12 km |
42.46°S, |
172.88°E |
|
Foreshock to 6.4 event |
22 May 1948 |
Hanmer Springs |
North Canterbury |
6.4 |
|
12 km |
42.49°S |
173.00°E |
|
Mainshock |
22 May 1948 |
Cheviot |
North Canterbury |
6.2 |
|
12 km |
42.83°S |
173.05°E |
|
Separate event triggered by the M 6.4 earthquake 5 minutes prior. |
9 Feb 1949 |
Hawera |
Taranaki |
6.4 |
|
199 km |
39.67°S |
174.35°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island |
1950 to 1999
Date |
Location |
Region |
Magnitude (ML) |
Magnitude (MW) |
Depth |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Fatalities |
Further information |
28 Feb 1950 |
Lake Waikaremoana |
Hawke's Bay |
5.8 |
|
60 km |
38.86°S |
176.92°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island [13] |
10 Jan 1951 |
Cheviot |
North Canterbury |
5.5 |
|
12 km |
42.78°S |
173.18°E |
|
Felt throughout central New Zealand |
10 Feb 1951 |
Porangahau |
Hawke's Bay |
6.1 |
|
33 km |
40.21°S |
177.04°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island [14] |
24 Jun 1951 |
Toaroa Junction |
Manawatu |
6.3 |
|
33 km |
39.45°S |
176.20°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island |
28 Aug 1952 |
Porangahau |
Hawkes Bay |
5.9 |
|
12 km |
40.08S |
177.19°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island |
29 Sep 1953 |
Tauranga |
Bay of Plenty |
7.2 |
|
273 km |
37.59°S |
176.48°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island |
27 Feb 1955 |
Raoul Island |
Kermadec Islands |
7.8 |
|
18 km |
28.40°S |
175.37°W |
|
Felt in the East half of North Island |
29 Dec 1956 |
Matawai |
Gisborne |
6.1 |
6.1 |
33 km |
39.72°S |
176.87°E |
|
Felt strongly along the East Coast of the North Island |
31 Jan 1958 |
Waipawa |
Hawke's Bay |
6.1 |
|
12 km |
30.30°S |
177.50°E |
|
|
14 Sep 1959 |
Raoul Island |
Kermadec Islands |
|
7.8 |
35 km |
28.82°S |
177.07°W |
|
Felt in the East half of North Island |
25 May 1960 |
Milford Sound |
Southland |
6.3 |
|
12 km |
44.17°S |
167.72°E |
|
|
27 Dec 1961 |
Martinborough |
Wellington |
6.2 |
|
12 km |
41.51°S |
176.11°E |
|
Struck offshore Wellington Region, 65 km east of Martinborough |
10 May 1962 |
Westport |
West Coast |
5.6 |
|
12 km |
41.66°S |
171.44°E |
|
Felt strongly in Westport |
18 Dec 1963 |
Raoul Islands |
Kermadec Islands |
|
7.7 |
35 km |
24.77°S |
176.52°W |
|
Felt in the East half of North Island |
11 April 1965 |
Kaikoura |
North Canterbury |
6.1 |
|
12 km |
42.76°S |
173.87°E |
|
Felt in Kaikoura/North Canterbury |
21 May 1965 |
George Sound |
Southland |
6.4 |
|
101 km |
44.94°S |
167.36°E |
|
|
4 Mar 1966 |
Gisborne |
East Cape |
6.0 |
|
33 km |
38.73°S |
178.11°E |
|
Felt in Gisborne |
23 April 1966 |
Cook Strait |
Marlborough |
5.8 |
5.8 |
12 km |
41.64°S |
174.54°E |
|
Caused damage in Wellington |
24 May 1968 |
Inangahua Junction |
West Coast |
6.7 |
7.1 |
12 km |
41.75°S |
172.04°E |
2 |
1968 Inangahua earthquake |
5 Jan 1973 |
Taupo |
Waikato |
7.0 |
|
163 km |
39.03°S |
175.26°E |
|
Felt throughout New Zealand |
5 May 1976 |
Milford Sound |
Southland |
6.6 |
|
12 km |
44.67°S |
167.38°E |
|
|
15 Jan 1976 |
Raoul Island |
Kermadec Islands |
|
7.8 |
43 km |
29.21°S |
177.63°W |
|
Foreshock to M 8.2 event |
15 Jan 1976 |
Raoul Island |
Kermadec Islands |
|
8.2 |
31 km |
29.17°S |
177.31°W |
|
Main shock |
18 Jan 1977 |
Cook Strait |
Marlborough |
6.0 |
|
33 km |
41.84°S |
174.58°E |
|
|
6 Oct 1980 |
Hastings |
Hawke's Bay |
5.6 |
5.7 |
30 km |
39.72°S |
176.87°E |
|
Felt more strongly in other parts of Hawke's Bay than in Hastings itself |
24 Jun 1984 |
Lake Tekapo |
Canterbury |
5.9 |
|
12 km |
43.58°S |
170.00°E |
|
Felt around the South Island |
21 Oct 1986 |
Raoul Island |
Kermadec Islands |
|
8.3 |
33 km |
28.15°S |
176.29°W |
|
Felt throughout New Zealand[15] |
2 Mar 1987 |
Edgecumbe |
Bay of Plenty |
6.1 |
6.5 |
10 km |
37.88°S |
176.80°E |
|
1987 Edgecumbe earthquake |
4 Jun 1988 |
Te Anau |
Southland |
6.1 |
|
73 km |
45.12°S |
167.29°E |
|
|
24 May 1989 |
Puysegur Trench |
South of New Zealand |
|
8.2 |
|
|
|
|
Felt in the South Island |
31 May 1989 |
Doubtful Sound |
Southland |
6.1 |
|
23 km |
45.33°S |
166.87°E |
|
|
13 May 1990 |
Weber |
Manawatu |
6.2[16] |
|
29 km |
40.42S |
176.47°E |
|
Mainshock |
28 Jan 1991 |
Buller Ranges |
West Coast |
6.1 |
|
9.9 km |
41.90°S |
171.65°E |
|
Foreshock to M 6.3 event |
29 Jan 1991 |
Buller Ranges |
West Coast |
6.3 |
|
17.3 km |
41.90°S |
171.72°E |
|
Mainshock |
8 Sep 1991 |
South Taranaki Bight |
Manawatu |
6.3 |
|
86 km |
40.24°S |
175.16°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island |
27 May 1992 |
Wairau Valley |
Marlborough |
6.8 |
|
79 km |
41.60°S |
173.66°E |
|
Felt in Central New Zealand |
21 June 1992 |
White Island |
Bay of Plenty |
6.1 |
|
5 km |
37.57°S |
176.82°E |
|
Felt in Bay of Plenty |
10 Aug 1993 |
Secretary Island |
Southland |
6.7 |
7.0 |
5 km |
45.21°S |
166.70°E |
|
Felt as far away as Australia |
10 Aug 1993 |
Gisborne |
East Cape |
6.3 |
|
45 km |
38.52°S |
177.90°E |
|
Felt strongly in Gisborne. |
11 Apr 1993 |
Hastings |
Hawke's Bay |
6.1 |
|
37 km |
39.72°S |
176.71°E |
|
Felt strongly throughout Hawke's Bay |
18 Jun 1994 |
Arthur's Pass |
Canterbury |
6.7 |
6.7 |
4 km |
43.00°S |
171.47°E |
|
Mainshock |
19 Jun 1994 |
Lake Coleridge |
Canterbury |
6.1 |
|
5 km |
43.16°S, |
171.47°E |
|
Triggered from the M 6.7 Arthur's Pass event |
24 Nov 1995 |
Arthur's Pass |
Canterbury |
6.3 |
|
7 km |
42.95°S, |
171.81°E |
|
Felt strongly in the South Island |
6 Feb 1995 |
NE of New Zealand |
East Cape |
7.0 |
|
12 km |
37.7°7S |
179.68°E |
|
Mainshock |
25 May 1997 |
Raoul Island |
Kermadec Islands |
|
7.9 |
339 km |
33.61°S |
177.80°E |
|
Felt throughout North Island and upper half of South Island |
25 Oct 1999 |
Taupo |
Waikato |
7.0 |
|
160 km |
38.56S |
175.91°E |
|
Felt throughout New Zealand |
2000 to 2009
Date |
Location |
Region |
Magnitude (ML) |
Magnitude (MW) |
Depth |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Fatalities |
Further information |
21 Aug 2001 |
NE of New Zealand |
East Cape |
7.1 |
7.1 |
33 km |
36.98°S |
179.16°E |
|
Felt in the Gisborne area |
15 Oct 2001 |
Hastings |
Hawke's Bay |
5.8 |
|
40 km |
39.69°S, |
176.72°E |
|
Felt strongly throughout Hawke's Bay |
8 Dec 2001 |
Haast |
West Coast |
6.2 |
|
5 km |
44.11°S |
168.60°E |
|
Mainshock |
19 Aug 2002 |
Fiji Islands |
Greater NZ Region |
|
7.7 |
694 km |
23.81°S |
178.36°E |
|
Buildings swayed in Auckland for 2 minutes |
22 Aug 2003 |
Fiordland |
Southland |
7.0 |
7.2 |
24 km |
45.19°S, |
166.83°E |
|
Felt throughout South Island |
22 Nov 2004 |
Puysegur Trench |
South of New Zealand |
7.1 |
7.0 |
12 km |
46.57°S |
165.08°E |
|
Felt strongly in Southland Region |
21 Jan 2005 |
Upper Hutt |
Wellington |
5.6 |
|
30 km |
41.08°S |
175.05°E |
|
Felt strongly throughout Wellington Region |
14 Mar 2005 |
Opunake |
Manawatu-Wanganui |
6.4 |
|
154 km |
40.17°S |
173.63°E |
|
Felt strongly throughout central New Zealand |
16 May 2006 |
Raoul Island |
Kermadec Islands |
7.6 |
7.4 |
150 km |
31.56°S, |
179.30°W |
|
Felt in East half of New Zealand |
16 May 2006 |
Raoul Island |
Kermadec Islands |
7.1 |
|
33 km |
31.98°S, |
177.21°W |
|
Felt in East half on North Island |
15 Oct 2007 |
George Sound |
Southland |
6.7 |
6.7 |
5 km |
44.72°S |
167.39°E |
|
Felt lower half of South Island |
9 Dec 2007 |
Raoul Island |
Kermadec Islands |
|
7.8 |
152 km |
25.99°S |
177.51°W |
|
Felt in East half of New Zealand |
20 Dec 2007 |
Gisborne |
East Cape |
6.7 |
6.6 |
44 km |
38.89°S |
178.44°E |
|
2007 Gisborne earthquake |
25 Aug 2008 |
Hastings |
Hawke's Bay |
5.9 |
|
31 km |
39.71°S |
176.85°E |
|
2008 Hastings earthquake |
15 Jul 2009 |
Dusky Sound |
Southland |
|
7.8 |
12 km |
45.76°S |
166.58°E |
|
2009 Fiordland earthquake |
2010 to present
Earthquakes resulting in fatalities
References
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ McSaveney, M.J., Graham, I.J., Begg, J.G., Beu, A.G., Hull, A.G., Kyeong, K. & Zondervan, A. 2006. Late Holocene uplift of beach ridges at Turakirae Head, south Wellington coast, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics abstracts, 49, 337-358.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Geonet
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 65.0 65.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.