Light magnitude 3.9 earthquake at unknown depth21 Sep 04:33 UTC: First to report: GEONET (NZ) after 2 minutes.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeSep 21, 2026 04:30:37 UTC - Local time at epicenterMonday, Sep 21, 2026, at 04:30 pm (GMT +12)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude3.9Depth10 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude40.6319°S / 176.1525°EManawatu-Wanganui, New ZealandSeismic antipode40.6319°N / 3.848°WSpainShaking intensityIV Light shaking near epicenterFelt0 reportsPrimary data sourceGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Nearest volcanoRuapehu (158 km / 98 mi)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeFew Clouds 10.8°C (51 F), humidity: 76%, wind: 10 m/s (20 kts) from WNWEstimated seismic energy released4.5 x 1010 joules (12.4 megawatt hours, equivalent to 10.7 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 3.9 | about seismic energy6 minutes agoSep 21, 2026 04:30 GMT / Sep 21, 2026 04:30 pm (GMT +12)Lat / Lng: -40.63193 / 176.15248: New ZealandSource: GEONET (NZ)Detail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-23379532',-40.63193,176.15248,'6 minutes ago: Mag. 3.9, 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 Palmerston North, a town with 91,000 inhabitants in New Zealand, in 55 km (34 mi) distance northwest of the epicenter. People likely experienced very weak shaking there. Many smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking. In the capital of New Zealand, Wellington, 137 km (85 mi) away from the epicenter, the earthquake was probably felt as very weak shaking.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.DistancePlaceMax. shaking intensity(*)RegionCountry11 km (7 mi)N of epicenterPongaroa(pop: 81)IV: LightManawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand30 km (19 mi)S of epicenterCastlepoint(pop: 1,690)III: WeakMasterton, WellingtonNew Zealand33 km (21 mi)NW of epicenterPahiatua(pop: 2,860)III: WeakManawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand41 km (25 mi)NW of epicenterWoodville(pop: 1,680)III: WeakTararua District, Manawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand47 km (29 mi)SW of epicenterKopuaranga(pop: 1,130)III: WeakMasterton, WellingtonNew Zealand48 km (30 mi)N of epicenterDannevirke(pop: 5,680)III: WeakManawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand51 km (31 mi)NW of epicenterAshhurst(pop: 3,400)III: WeakPalmerston North, Manawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand55 km (34 mi)NW of epicenterPalmerston North(pop: 91,300)II: Very weakManawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand55 km (34 mi)SW of epicenterMasterton(pop: 28,700)II: Very weakWellingtonNew Zealand57 km (36 mi)W of epicenterTokomaru(pop: 563)II: Very weakHorowhenua District, Manawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand59 km (37 mi)NW of epicenterPohangina(pop: 210)II: Very weakManawatu District, Manawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand63 km (39 mi)W of epicenterShannon(pop: 1,610)II: Very weakHorowhenua District, Manawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand66 km (41 mi)SW of epicenterGladstone(pop: 940)II: Very weakCarterton District, WellingtonNew Zealand68 km (42 mi)SW of epicenterCarterton(pop: 10,300)II: Very weakWellingtonNew Zealand69 km (43 mi)N of epicenterTakapau(pop: 516)II: Very weakCentral Hawke's Bay District, Hawke's BayNew Zealand74 km (46 mi)W of epicenterLevin(pop: 19,800)II: Very weakHorowhenua District, Manawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand75 km (47 mi)W of epicenterFoxton(pop: 4,780)II: Very weakHorowhenua District, Manawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand83 km (51 mi)NW of epicenterBulls(pop: 2,150)II: Very weakRangitikei District, Manawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand86 km (53 mi)W of epicenterOtaki(pop: 6,090)II: Very weakKapiti Coast District, WellingtonNew Zealand88 km (55 mi)SW of epicenterFeatherston(pop: 2,760)II: Very weakSouth Wairarapa District, WellingtonNew Zealand88 km (55 mi)SW of epicenterMartinborough(pop: 2,050)II: Very weakSouth Wairarapa District, WellingtonNew Zealand91 km (56 mi)NW of epicenterMarton(pop: 5,740)II: Very weakRangitikei District, Manawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand96 km (59 mi)W of epicenterWaikanae(pop: 13,300)II: Very weakKapiti Coast District, WellingtonNew Zealand101 km (63 mi)W of epicenterParaparaumu(pop: 29,900)II: Very weakKapiti Coast District, WellingtonNew Zealand102 km (63 mi)SW of epicenterWaipawa(pop: 1,900)II: Very weakSouth Wairarapa District, WellingtonNew Zealand108 km (67 mi)SW of epicenterUpper Hutt(pop: 47,500)II: Very weakWellingtonNew Zealand110 km (69 mi)N of epicenterTaihape(pop: 1,810)II: Very weakRangitikei District, Manawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand114 km (71 mi)SW of epicenterPukerua Bay(pop: 2,070)II: Very weakPorirua, WellingtonNew Zealand122 km (76 mi)NW of epicenterWhanganui(pop: 48,900)II: Very weakManawatu-WanganuiNew Zealand123 km (76 mi)SW of epicenterLower Hutt(pop: 113,400)II: Very weakWellingtonNew Zealand123 km (76 mi)SW of epicenterPorirua(pop: 61,800)II: Very weakWellingtonNew Zealand123 km (77 mi)SW of epicenterWainuiomata(pop: 20,300)II: Very weakLower Hutt, WellingtonNew Zealand124 km (77 mi)NE of epicenterHavelock North(pop: 14,900)II: Very weakHastings District, Hawke's BayNew Zealand125 km (78 mi)NE of epicenterHastings(pop: 89,200)II: Very weakHawke's BayNew Zealand131 km (81 mi)SW of epicenterJohnsonville(pop: 12,100)II: Very weakWellington City, WellingtonNew Zealand133 km (82 mi)NW of epicenterAotea(pop: 4,170)II: Very weakPorirua, WellingtonNew Zealand137 km (85 mi)SW of epicenterWellington(pop: 381,900)II: Very weakWellingtonNew Zealand138 km (86 mi)SW of epicenterNewtown(pop: 10,100)II: Very weakWellington City, WellingtonNew Zealand139 km (86 mi)SW of epicenterKarori(pop: 15,400)II: Very weakWellington City, WellingtonNew Zealand142 km (88 mi)NE of epicenterNapier(pop: 66,800)II: Very weakHawke's BayNew 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 GMT2026-09-21EpicenterAgency3.910 km6.2 mi(*)04:30:37New 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 56 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 3,000 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 41.7 years)Mag. 6 or higher: 0.1 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 9.7 years)Mag. 5 or higher: 1.07 quakes per yearMag. 4 or higher: 10.2 quakes per yearMag. 3 or higher: 82 quakes per year (or 6.9 quakes per month)Mag. 2 or higher: 795 quakes per year (or 66 quakes per month)Mag. 1 or higher: 2,900 quakes per year (or 7.9 quakes per day)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 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 40 to 45 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake