Moderate magnitude 4.2 earthquake at 100 km depth18 Apr 04:12 UTC: First to report: GEONET (NZ) after 5 minutes.18 Apr 04:14: Magnitude recalculated from 1.6 to 1.9. Epicenter location corrected by 80 km (50 mi) towards SW.18 Apr 04:15: Magnitude recalculated from 1.9 to 2.0.18 Apr 04:22: Magnitude recalculated from 2.0 to 4.2. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 5.00 to 100.00 km (from 3.1 to 62 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 1142 km (710 mi) towards NNE.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeApr 18, 2026 04:06:50 UTC - Local time at epicenterSaturday, Apr 18, 2026, at 04:06 pm (GMT +12)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude4.2Depth100 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude31.8979°S / 178.2865°WHorowhenua District, Wellington, New ZealandSeismic antipode31.8979°N / 1.7135°ESpainShaking intensityII Very weak shakingFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Nearest volcanoVolcano W (85 km / 53 mi)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeOvercast Clouds 15.3°C (60 F), humidity: 79%, wind: 4 m/s (9 kts) from NNWEstimated seismic energy released1.3 x 1011 joules (35 megawatt hours, equivalent to 30.1 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.2 | about seismic energy18 minutes agoApr 18, 2026 04:06 GMT / Apr 18, 2026 04:06 pm (GMT +12)Lat / Lng: -31.89786 / -178.28654: New ZealandSource: GEONET (NZ)Detail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22920430',-31.89786,-178.28654,'18 minutes ago: Mag. 4.2, 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!Get the Android appCompare 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 GMT2026-04-18EpicenterAgency4.2100 km62 mi04:06:50New 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 2 km2 (1 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 2 km (1 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)Apr 18, 2026 04:06 pm (GMT +12)18 minutes ago4.2100 km0 km - This quakeWellington, New ZealandMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 105 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 6 or higher: 0.36 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 2.8 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 11.6 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 92 quakes per year (or 7.7 quakes per month)Mag. 3 or higher: 102 quakes per year (or 8.5 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 102 quakes per year (or 8.5 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 46 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