Moderate magnitude 4.4 earthquake at 33 km depth20 Sep 16:59 UTC: First to report: GEONET (NZ) after 3 minutes.20 Sep 17:01: Magnitude recalculated from 2.1 to 2.8. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 39.40 to 46.80 km (from 24 to 29 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 18 km (11 mi) towards SW.20 Sep 17:03: Magnitude recalculated from 2.8 to 2.6.20 Sep 17:03: Magnitude recalculated from 2.6 to 4.4. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 46.80 to 33.00 km (from 29 to 21 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 714 km (444 mi) towards NE.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeSep 20, 2025 16:56:15 UTC - Local time at epicenterSunday, Sep 21, 2025, at 04:56 am (GMT +12)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude4.4Depth33 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude32.2696°S / 177.5919°WOpotiki District, Gisborne, New ZealandSeismic antipode32.2696°N / 2.4081°ESpainShaking intensityIII Weak shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Nearest volcanoVolcano W (157 km / 98 mi)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeBroken Clouds 11.7°C (53 F), humidity: 68%, wind: 4 m/s (9 kts) from NNWEstimated seismic energy released2.5 x 1011 joules (69.8 megawatt hours, equivalent to 60 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.4 | about seismic energy9 minutes agoSep 20, 2025 16:56 GMT / Sep 21, 2025 04:56 am (GMT +12)Lat / Lng: -32.2696 / -177.59192: New ZealandSource: GEONET (NZ)Detail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22186331',-32.26960,-177.59192,'9 minutes ago: Mag. 4.4, New Zealand',html,'quakes-6-24.png',25,25,12,12,125]); function mkRep(id,notFelt){var nFelt=notFelt||false;var src="https://www.volcanoesandearthquakes.com/app/earthquake-report.php?quakeId="+id;if(nFelt==true){src+="¬Felt=true";}window.open(src,"","status=0,toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,height=400,width=350");} function locationHashChanged(e){-1!=e.oldURL.indexOf("#popupMap")&&closePopup()} window.onhashchange = locationHashChanged; function comment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=(t.dataset.id,document.getElementById("commentForm"));"none"==a.style.display?(t.appendChild(a),a.style.display="block"):a.style.display="none"}function sendComment(e){var t=e.parentNode,a=t.parentNode.dataset.id,n=document.getElementById("commentContent"),p=n.value.trim();if(p){var o="id="+a+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId;o+="&comment="+decodeURIComponent(p),mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",o,function(e){e.responseText;alert("Thank you for submitting your comment!"),t.style.display="none",n.value=""})}}function flagReport(e){var t=e.parentNode.dataset.id;if(confirm("Report this as inappropriate?")){var a="id="+t+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&flagAsInappropriate=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",a,function(t){var a=t.responseText;alert(a),e.style.display="none"})}}function likeReport(e){var t="id="+e.parentNode.dataset.id+"&quakeId="+thisQuakeId+"&like=1";mkRequest("//reports.volcanodiscovery.com/app/eqReportComment.php","post",t,function(t){t.responseText;e.style.opacity=.5})}]]>[smaller] [bigger]Most recent quakes Top 20 past 24 hrs Quakes in New ZealandNearby placesUser-reports for this quakeThere are no user reports for this quake yet.If you felt it, be the first to report it!Compare Quake DataData for the same earthquake as reported by different agenciesThe more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.MagDepthTime GMT2025-09-20EpicenterAgency4.433 km21 mi16:56:15New ZealandGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Aftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 3 km2 (1 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 3 km (2 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)Sep 21, 2025 04:56 am (GMT +12)9 minutes ago4.433 km0 km - This quakeGisborne, New ZealandMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 25 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 93 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 6 or higher: 0.31 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 3.2 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 11.2 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 78 quakes per year (or 6.5 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 105 quakes per year (or 8.7 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 105 quakes per year (or 8.7 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 39 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 1 to 5 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake