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New Zealand

M3.9 Earthquake near NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2025-08-21 14:19:19 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

On August 21, 2025 at 14:19 UTC, a magnitude M3.9 earthquake occurred near NORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND (New Zealand). With a focal depth of about 22 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Shaking of this size is frequently noticed but usually harmless.

The event was recorded by EMSC. New Zealand: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 2 earthquakes, the strongest at M3.0.

Details

ID
02f0575ac825fc51e713c611adf4e1caf7c9f29e
Magnitude
M3.9
Depth
21.7 km
UTC time
2025-08-21 14:19:19 UTC
Local time
—
Country
New Zealand
City
Manawatū-Whanganui
Source
emsc
Coordinates
-40.23220, 175.29200
Temperature
4.1°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 21.7 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 21.7 km
Shallow
21.7 km
21.7 km — shallower than the regional average (70.9 km)
Regional average: 70.9 km
Why depth matters

Shallow quakes release energy near the surface — shaking is felt more strongly and damage potential is higher.

Depth classes per USGS

Volcanoes nearby

  • Ruapehu
    Distance: 109 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 123 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Taranaki
    Distance: 147 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 169 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Okataina
    Distance: 253 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Tuhua/Mayor Island
    Distance: 339 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 355 m ·Last eruption: -5055 ·New Zealand

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Palmerston North AirportNew Zealand · PMR · NZPM
    29.3 kmStraight-line distance
  • Wanganui AirportNew Zealand · WAG · NZWU
    37.6 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-05

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts. Distances use recorded site coordinates. Sources & data dates

Manawatū-Whanganui

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 107 Catalogue entries

Sufficiently reliable matching data are not currently available for a direct comparison. The area profile shows the available records and their limitations.

Open seismic profile

Historic earthquake map · New Zealand

Open history map
Explore recent and long-term earthquake activity in this country. Use filters to narrow down by magnitude, depth, and date range.

Country statistics · New Zealand

Country overview
View earthquake KPIs, strongest and latest events, and averages for this country.

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