Earthquakes in New Zealand

Seismic activity in New Zealand is moderate by global standards, with 10 events recorded in the past 30 days, and 51 of the events on record reached magnitude 5 or above — the level at which damage becomes a genuine concern for vulnerable construction. New Zealand sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, and the depth distribution below shows the subducting slab beneath it directly.

197 earthquakes have been recorded in New Zealand in our catalogue, 10 of them in the past 30 days.

The average magnitude is 4.7 and the average focal depth 68 km. 187 events reached magnitude 4 or above and 51 reached magnitude 5 or above.

The strongest earthquake recorded in New Zealand in this period was a magnitude 7.0 event near Riverton, New Zealand on 25 March 2025, at a depth of 10 km. A magnitude 7.0 earthquake radiates roughly 476,879 tons of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.

Locations recording the most events include Hicks Bay (22), Riverton (16), Te Anau (7), Witherlea (6), Turangi (6).

66% of events here are shallow (under 70 km), 34% intermediate (70–300 km) and 0% deep-focus (over 300 km). A substantial share of intermediate-depth events points to a subducting slab beneath the region rather than purely crustal faulting.

The deepest event on record here was a magnitude 4.4 earthquake at 293 km beneath Maketu, New Zealand on 16 May 2026.

By band, the catalogue holds 1 in the magnitude 1 range, 2 in the magnitude 2 range, 7 in the magnitude 3 range, 136 in the magnitude 4 range, 45 in the magnitude 5 range, 5 in the magnitude 6 range.

The busiest single day was 25 March 2025, with 5 recorded events.

1 of these events carry a USGS link to NOAA tsunami information. That link flag does not mean a tsunami occurred or that a warning was issued.