69 km SSW of Patea, New Zealand

47 days ago

USGS

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 69 km SSW of Patea, New Zealand on 14 Sept 2026, 22:44 UTC. The hypocentre was 97.6 km below the surface — intermediate by seismological convention. 2 other earthquakes above our reporting threshold have been recorded within 250 km in the past 30 days.

Depth: 97.6 km
Latitude: 40.33°S
Time: 22:44 UTC
Magnitude: M4.9

EPICENTRE

View the official report↗

MAGNITUDE 4.9

Noticeable shaking of indoor objects. Damage is unlikely.

The scale is logarithmic: this released about 710 times the energy of a magnitude 3.0, roughly the energy of 338 tonnes of TNT.

97.6 KM DEEP

At this depth the energy spreads before it reaches the surface. Shaking is usually weaker than a shallow earthquake of the same size, but it can be felt across a wider area.