New Zealand was shaken near Whakatane, Whakatane District, Bay of Plenty, by an earthquake of magnitude 5.2 only 3 minutes ago, New Zealand's Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey (GeoNet) reported.The quake hit at an intermediate depth of 125.90 km beneath the epicenter near Whakatane, Whakatane District, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, in the morning on Wednesday, July 8th, 2026, at 8:33 am local time. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter. Weak shaking might have been felt in Te Kaha (pop. 390) located 62 km from the epicenter.Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Whakatane (pop. 18,600) located 100 km from the epicenter.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become 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: Jul 7, 2026 08:33 pm (Universal Time) local time (7 Jul 2026 20:33 GMT)Magnitude: 5.0Depth: 147.30 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 38.44°S / 176.96°E (New Zealand)Primary data source: GEONET (NZ)