Kermadec Islands, New Zealand

12 hours ago

USGS

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck Kermadec Islands, New Zealand on 16 Sept 2026, 20:03 UTC. The hypocentre was 35 km below the surface — shallow by seismological convention.

Depth: 35 km
Latitude: 30.22°S
Time: 20:03 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.

35 KM DEEP

Shallow earthquakes release their energy close to the surface, so they are felt more strongly, and do more damage, than deeper earthquakes of the same magnitude.