An earthquake of magnitude 2.8 occurred only 18 minutes ago, 24 km northwest of Rotorua, New Zealand, as reported by New Zealand's Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey (GeoNet).The quake struck at a very shallow depth of 5. km beneath the epicenter near Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, in the early evening on Wednesday, October 14th, 2026, at 6:47 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review the data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their reports.Weak shaking might have been felt in Mamaku (pop. 750), located 9 km from the epicenter.Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Putaruru (pop. 4,700), located 18 km from the epicenter; Ngongotaha (pop. 5,200), 19 km away; and Tokoroa (pop. 14,500), 20 km away. In Rotorua (pop. 65,900, 24 km away), Matamata (pop. 6,300, 36 km away), Tauranga (pop. 155,200, 47 km away), Cambridge (pop. 15,200, 53 km away), and Hamilton (pop. 189,700, 70 km away), the quake was probably not felt.Earthquake data: Date & time: Oct 14, 2026 06:47 pm (GMT +13) local time (14 Oct 2026 05:47 GMT)Magnitude: 2.8Hypocenter depth: 5.00 kmEpicenter coordinates: 38.08°S / 175.98°E (South Waikato District, Waikato, New Zealand)Primary data source: GEONET (NZ)