A very shallow magnitude 5.3 earthquake was reported early in the morning near New Plymouth, New Plymouth District, Taranaki, New Zealand.According to New Zealand's Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey (GeoNet), the quake struck on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, at 2:57 a.m. local time, at a very shallow depth of 8.10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones because they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review the data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their reports.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage. Moderate shaking probably occurred in Lepperton (pop. 400), located 10 km from the epicenter; Waitara (pop. 7,700), 12 km away; Inglewood (pop. 4,000), 15 km away; Bell Block (pop. 8,300), 16 km away; Fitzroy (pop. 3,700), 20 km away; New Plymouth (pop. 90,300), 21 km away; Moturoa (pop. 4,600), 25 km away; and Stratford (pop. 6,400), 29 km away.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update the magnitude and depth if they change and follow up if other significant news about the quake becomes available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.Earthquake data: Date & time: Oct 2, 2026 01:57 pm (Universal Time) local time (2 Oct 2026 13:57 GMT)Magnitude: 5.1Hypocenter depth: 8.10 kmEpicenter coordinates: 39.08°S / 174.33°E (New Plymouth District, Taranaki, New Zealand)Primary data source: EMSC