Light magnitude 3.4 earthquake at 85 km depth8 Apr 15:02 UTC: First to report: GEONET (NZ) after 2 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeApr 8, 2026 14:59:57 UTC - Local time at epicenterWednesday, Apr 8, 2026, at 02:59 pm (Universal Time GMT +0)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude3.4Depth85 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude36.8043°S / 179.0026°ENew ZealandSeismic antipode36.8043°N / 0.997°WSpainShaking intensityII Very weak shakingFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Nearest volcanoTangaroa (102 km / 63 mi)Estimated seismic energy released7.9 x 109 joules (2.21 megawatt hours, equivalent to 1.9 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 3.4 | about seismic energy2 minutes agoApr 8, 2026 14:59 GMT / Apr 8, 2026 02:59 pm (Universal Time)Lat / Lng: -36.80428 / 179.00259: New ZealandSource: GEONET (NZ)Detail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-22889336',-36.80428,179.00259,'2 minutes ago: Mag. 3.4, New Zealand',html,'quakes-5-24.png',18,18,9,9,124]); 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 placesThe closest larger town near the epicenter is Hicks Bay, a town with 1,400 inhabitants in New Zealand, in 108 km (67 mi) distance to the southwest, but it is unlikely that the quake was felt there. DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry108 km (67 mi)SW of epicenterHicks Bay(pop: 1,390)I: Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand134 km (83 mi)SW of epicenterRuatoria(pop: 897)I: Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand157 km (97 mi)SW of epicenterTe Kaha(pop: 387)I: Not feltOpotiki District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand160 km (100 mi)S of epicenterTokomaru(pop: 954)I: Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand185 km (115 mi)S of epicenterTolaga Bay(pop: 932)I: Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand202 km (126 mi)SW of epicenterOpotiki(pop: 4,880)I: Not feltBay of PlentyNew Zealand210 km (131 mi)SW of epicenterTe Karaka(pop: 522)I: Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand220 km (137 mi)SW of epicenterWhakatane(pop: 18,600)I: Not feltBay of PlentyNew Zealand224 km (139 mi)S of epicenterGisborne(pop: 38,300)I: Not feltGisborneNew Zealand225 km (140 mi)SW of epicenterTaneatua(pop: 1,500)I: Not feltWhakatane District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand226 km (140 mi)SW of epicenterWaimana(pop: 709)I: Not feltWhakatane District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand232 km (144 mi)SW of epicenterEdgecumbe(pop: 1,900)I: Not feltWhakatane District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand233 km (144 mi)SW of epicenterMatata(pop: 681)I: Not feltWhakatane District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand249 km (155 mi)SW of epicenterKawerau(pop: 7,670): Not feltBay of PlentyNew Zealand250 km (155 mi)SW of epicenterMaketu(pop: 1,410): Not feltWestern Bay of Plenty District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand252 km (157 mi)SW of epicenterTiniroto(pop: 1,540): Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand260 km (162 mi)SW of epicenterTe Puke(pop: 10,500): Not feltWestern Bay of Plenty District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand271 km (168 mi)SW of epicenterOkere Falls(pop: 381): Not feltRotorua District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand274 km (171 mi)SW of epicenterMurupara(pop: 1,880): Not feltWhakatane District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand276 km (171 mi)SW of epicenterTuai(pop: 280): Not feltWairoa District, Hawke's BayNew Zealand296 km (184 mi)SW of epicenterReporoa(pop: 595): Not feltRotorua District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand618 km (384 mi)SW of epicenterWellington(pop: 381,900): Not feltWellingtonNew ZealandNotes:(*) Shaking intensity according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) and estimated using seismic models.User-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 GMT2026-04-8EpicenterAgency3.485 km53 mi14:59:57New ZealandGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Earthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 343 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.02 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 62.5 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.08 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 12.7 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 2.4 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 23.6 quakes per yearMag. 3 or higher: 136 quakes per year (or 11.3 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 335 quakes per year (or 27.9 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 343 quakes per year (or 28.6 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 2 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 60 to 65 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake