Light magnitude 3.8 earthquake at unknown depth14 Aug 22:32 UTC: First to report: GEONET (NZ) after 2 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeAug 14, 2026 22:30:05 UTC - Local time at epicenterFriday, Aug 14, 2026, at 10:30 pm (Universal Time GMT +0)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude3.8Depth10 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude44.5197°S / 167.7765°ENew ZealandSeismic antipode44.5197°N / 12.224°WSpainShaking intensityIV Light shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Nearest volcanoHautere (236 km / 147 mi)Estimated seismic energy released3.2 x 1010 joules (8.78 megawatt hours, equivalent to 7.56 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 3.8 | about seismic energy2 minutes agoAug 14, 2026 22:30 GMT / Aug 14, 2026 10:30 pm (Universal Time)Lat / Lng: -44.51971 / 167.77647: New ZealandSource: GEONET (NZ)Detail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-23272207',-44.51971,167.77647,'2 minutes ago: Mag. 3.8, 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 where the quake might have been felt is Milford Sound, a town with 435 inhabitants in New Zealand, in 20 km (12 mi) distance southeast of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking there. In the capital of New Zealand, Wellington, 674 km (419 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake could not be felt.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry20 km (12 mi)SE of epicenterMilford Sound(pop: 435)III: WeakSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand61 km (38 mi)SE of epicenterGlenorchy(pop: 318)II: Very weakQueenstown-Lakes District, OtagoNew Zealand90 km (56 mi)SE of epicenterQueenstown(pop: 10,400)II: Very weakOtagoNew Zealand94 km (58 mi)SE of epicenterArrowtown(pop: 2,150)II: Very weakQueenstown-Lakes District, OtagoNew Zealand100 km (62 mi)S of epicenterTe Anau(pop: 2,910)II: Very weakSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand105 km (65 mi)SE of epicenterCardrona(pop: 800)II: Very weakQueenstown-Lakes District, OtagoNew Zealand111 km (69 mi)E of epicenterWanaka(pop: 13,100)II: Very weakQueenstown-Lakes District, OtagoNew Zealand113 km (70 mi)NE of epicenterOkuru(pop: 84)II: Very weakWestland District, West CoastNew Zealand117 km (73 mi)SE of epicenterKingston(pop: 306)II: Very weakQueenstown-Lakes District, OtagoNew Zealand117 km (73 mi)S of epicenterManapouri(pop: 228)II: Very weakSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand118 km (73 mi)E of epicenterLake Hawea(pop: 2,190)II: Very weakQueenstown-Lakes District, OtagoNew Zealand121 km (75 mi)E of epicenterLuggate(pop: 474)II: Very weakQueenstown-Lakes District, OtagoNew Zealand124 km (77 mi)NE of epicenterHaast(pop: 279)II: Very weakWestland District, West CoastNew Zealand126 km (78 mi)SE of epicenterCromwell(pop: 5,160)II: Very weakCentral Otago District, OtagoNew Zealand133 km (83 mi)S of epicenterMossburn(pop: 210)II: Very weakSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand145 km (90 mi)S of epicenterLumsden(pop: 463)I: Not feltSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand149 km (93 mi)SE of epicenterAlexandra(pop: 5,830)I: Not feltCentral Otago District, OtagoNew Zealand156 km (97 mi)S of epicenterOhai(pop: 408)I: Not feltSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand166 km (103 mi)SE of epicenterRoxburgh(pop: 600)I: Not feltCentral Otago District, OtagoNew Zealand174 km (108 mi)E of epicenterOmarama(pop: 304)I: Not feltCanterburyNew Zealand180 km (112 mi)S of epicenterTuatapere(pop: 558)I: Not feltSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand182 km (113 mi)S of epicenterOtautau(pop: 672)I: Not feltSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand186 km (116 mi)S of epicenterWinton(pop: 2,190)I: Not feltSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand187 km (116 mi)E of epicenterTwizel(pop: 1,780)I: Not feltMackenzie District, CanterburyNew Zealand192 km (119 mi)E of epicenterOtematata(pop: 183)I: Not feltOtagoNew Zealand196 km (122 mi)E of epicenterRanfurly(pop: 726)I: Not feltCentral Otago District, OtagoNew Zealand198 km (123 mi)SE of epicenterGore(pop: 13,100)I: Not feltSouthlandNew Zealand199 km (124 mi)E of epicenterGlentanner(pop: 250)I: Not feltMackenzie District, CanterburyNew Zealand203 km (126 mi)SE of epicenterMataura(pop: 1,680)I: Not feltGore District, SouthlandNew Zealand204 km (127 mi)S of epicenterRiverton(pop: 1,680)I: Not feltSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand205 km (127 mi)NE of epicenterAoraki / Mount Cook(pop: 213)I: Not feltMackenzie District, CanterburyNew Zealand206 km (128 mi)NE of epicenterWaikowhai(pop: 5,550)I: Not feltWestland District, West CoastNew Zealand214 km (133 mi)S of epicenterInvercargill(pop: 57,600)I: Not feltSouthlandNew Zealand215 km (133 mi)S of epicenterEdendale(pop: 588)I: Not feltSouthland District, SouthlandNew Zealand224 km (139 mi)SE of epicenterClinton(pop: 282)I: Not feltClutha District, OtagoNew Zealand230 km (143 mi)NE of epicenterFranz Josef(pop: 315)I: Not feltWestland District, West CoastNew Zealand245 km (152 mi)SE of epicenterBalclutha(pop: 4,440)I: Not feltClutha District, OtagoNew Zealand247 km (154 mi)SE of epicenterMilton(pop: 2,010)I: Not feltClutha District, OtagoNew Zealand252 km (156 mi)SE of epicenterMosgiel(pop: 14,800)I: Not feltDunedin City, OtagoNew Zealand674 km (419 mi)NE 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 GMT2026-08-14EpicenterAgency3.810 km6.2 mi(*)22:30:05New ZealandGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Notes:(*) A depth given as 10 km often means that the the depth of the quake could be not determined with sufficient accuracy.Earthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 26 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 576 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 6 or higher: 0.07 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 14.1 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 1.39 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 15.5 quakes per yearMag. 3 or higher: 116 quakes per year (or 9.7 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 502 quakes per year (or 42 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 574 quakes per year (or 48 quakes per month)The area where this quake occurred has a high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 9 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 10 to 15 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake