Moderate magnitude 4.5 earthquake at 500 km depth6 Aug 03:16 UTC: First to report: GEONET (NZ) after 5 minutes.6 Aug 03:20: Magnitude recalculated from 2.7 to 4.5. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 204.30 to 500.00 km (from 127 to 311 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 1191 km (740 mi) towards NNE.I didn't feel itI felt this quakeEarthquake detailsDate & timeAug 6, 2026 03:11:13 UTC - Local time at epicenterWednesday, Aug 5, 2026, at 03:11 pm (GMT -12)Statuspreliminary (automatic detection)Magnitude4.5Depth500 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude27.0276°S / 178.6066°WNew ZealandSeismic antipode27.0276°N / 1.3934°ESpainShaking intensityNot feltPrimary data sourceGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Nearest volcanoMonowai (190 km / 118 mi)Weather at epicenter at time of quakeBroken Clouds 10.9°C (52 F), humidity: 66%, wind: 11 m/s (21 kts) from SSWEstimated seismic energy released3.5 x 1011 joules (98.6 megawatt hours, equivalent to 84.8 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 4.5 | about seismic energy32 minutes agoAug 6, 2026 03:11 GMT / Aug 5, 2026 03:11 pm (GMT -12)Lat / Lng: -27.02764 / -178.60658: New ZealandSource: GEONET (NZ)Detail info | You felt it? - Report it!';storedMarkers.push(['quake-23248407',-27.02764,-178.60658,'32 minutes ago: Mag. 4.5, New Zealand',html,'quakes-6-24.png',25,25,12,12,125]); 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 ZealandUser-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 GMT2026-08-6EpicenterAgency4.5500 km311 mi03:11:13New ZealandGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)Aftershocks for this quakeNo aftershocks have been recorded so far. When aftershocks are detected, we will update this section.What are aftershocks?Larger earthquakes (above magnitude 5 or so) such as this one are usually followed by smaller ones known as aftershocks that occur in the same area during the days, weeks, months or even years after the main shock.[More info]What about this quake?Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake likely ruptured beneath a surface area of approximately 3 km2 (1 square miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 3 km (2 mi).[More info]Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quake)Aug 5, 2026 03:11 pm (GMT -12)32 minutes ago4.5500 km0 km - This quakeSouth Pacific Ocean, New ZealandMain Shock (this quake)MoreMap of aftershocksEarthquake statisticsAverage number of earthquakesBased on data from the past 56 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 12.8 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):Mag. 5 or higher: 0.84 quakes per year (or 1 quake every 1.2 years)Mag. 4 or higher: 10.7 quakes per yearMag. 3 or higher: 16.5 quakes per yearMag. 2 or higher: 16.7 quakes per yearThe area where this quake occurred has a high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 48 quakes above magnitude 5 since 1970, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 1 to 5 years.Number of quakes per yearPrevious quakes in the same area of this earthquake