Light magnitude 3.1 earthquake at 91 km depth9 Aug 13:05 UTC: First to report: GEONET (NZ) after 2 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeAug 9, 2026 13:03:31 UTC - Local time at epicenterSunday, Aug 9, 2026, at 01:03 pm (Universal Time GMT +0)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude3.1Depth91 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude36.9072°S / 178.7286°ENew ZealandSeismic antipode36.9072°N / 1.271°WShaking intensityNot feltPrimary data sourceGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Nearest volcanoTangaroa (90 km / 56 mi)Estimated seismic energy released2.8 x 109 joules (783 kilowatt hours, equivalent to 0.674 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 3.1 | about seismic energy2 minutes agoAug 9, 2026 13:03 GMT / Aug 9, 2026 01:03 pm (Universal Time)Lat / Lng: -36.90717 / 178.72859: New ZealandSource: GEONET (NZ)Detail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-23257303',-36.90717,178.72859,'2 minutes ago: Mag. 3.1, 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 86 km (53 mi) distance to the southwest, but it is unlikely that the quake was felt there. DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry86 km (53 mi)SW of epicenterHicks Bay(pop: 1,390)I: Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand114 km (71 mi)S of epicenterRuatoria(pop: 897)I: Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand131 km (82 mi)SW of epicenterTe Kaha(pop: 387)I: Not feltOpotiki District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand141 km (88 mi)S of epicenterTokomaru(pop: 954)I: Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand167 km (104 mi)S of epicenterTolaga Bay(pop: 932): Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand177 km (110 mi)SW of epicenterOpotiki(pop: 4,880): Not feltBay of PlentyNew Zealand189 km (118 mi)SW of epicenterTe Karaka(pop: 522): Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand193 km (120 mi)SW of epicenterWhakatane(pop: 18,600): Not feltBay of PlentyNew Zealand199 km (123 mi)SW of epicenterTaneatua(pop: 1,500): Not feltWhakatane District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand200 km (125 mi)SW of epicenterWaimana(pop: 709): Not feltWhakatane District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand204 km (127 mi)S of epicenterGisborne(pop: 38,300): Not feltGisborneNew Zealand206 km (128 mi)SW of epicenterEdgecumbe(pop: 1,900): Not feltWhakatane District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand206 km (128 mi)SW of epicenterMatata(pop: 681): Not feltWhakatane District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand223 km (138 mi)SW of epicenterKawerau(pop: 7,670): Not feltBay of PlentyNew Zealand223 km (139 mi)SW of epicenterMaketu(pop: 1,410): Not feltWestern Bay of Plenty District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand231 km (143 mi)SW of epicenterTiniroto(pop: 1,540): Not feltGisborne District, GisborneNew Zealand233 km (145 mi)SW of epicenterTe Puke(pop: 10,500): Not feltWestern Bay of Plenty District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand243 km (151 mi)W of epicenterTauranga(pop: 155,200): Not feltBay of PlentyNew Zealand249 km (155 mi)SW of epicenterMurupara(pop: 1,880): Not feltWhakatane District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand249 km (155 mi)SW of epicenterOropi(pop: 2,520): Not feltWestern Bay of Plenty District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand251 km (156 mi)SW of epicenterKaharoa(pop: 1,620): Not feltRotorua District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand252 km (157 mi)W of epicenterOmokoroa(pop: 5,990): Not feltWestern Bay of Plenty District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand253 km (157 mi)SW of epicenterTuai(pop: 280): Not feltWairoa District, Hawke's BayNew Zealand253 km (157 mi)S of epicenterNuhaka(pop: 342): Not feltWairoa District, Hawke's BayNew Zealand258 km (161 mi)SW of epicenterRotorua(pop: 65,900): Not feltBay of PlentyNew Zealand263 km (164 mi)SW of epicenterWairoa(pop: 4,940): Not feltHawke's BayNew Zealand268 km (167 mi)SW of epicenterMamaku(pop: 751): Not feltRotorua District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand270 km (168 mi)SW of epicenterReporoa(pop: 595): Not feltRotorua District, Bay of PlentyNew Zealand271 km (168 mi)SW of epicenterRaupunga(pop: 1,190): Not feltWairoa District, Hawke's BayNew Zealand305 km (190 mi)SW of epicenterTaupo(pop: 26,600): Not feltWaikatoNew Zealand595 km (369 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 GMT2026-08-9EpicenterAgency3.191 km56 mi13:03:31New 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 439 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 7 or higher: 0.05 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 18.9 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.1 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 10 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 2.4 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 17.1 quakes per yearMag. 3 or higher: 120 quakes per year (or 10 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 399 quakes per year (or 33.3 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 440 quakes per year (or 36.6 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 3 quakes above magnitude 7 since 1970, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 15 to 20 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake