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New Zealand · Wellington

M3.2 Earthquake near Wellington (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-08-27 11:54:29 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M3.2 earthquake was recorded near Wellington (New Zealand) on August 27, 2026 at 11:54 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 30 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Earthquakes of this magnitude are often felt but rarely cause damage.

The data is provided by EMSC and cross-checked across seismological networks. New Zealand: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 5 earthquakes, the strongest at M4.0.

Details

ID
0a0ec073ae50a153038354b497ae5e41ba8949e6
Magnitude
M3.2
Depth
30.0 km
UTC time
2026-08-27 11:54:29 UTC
Local time
—
Country
New Zealand
State
Wellington
City
Wellington
Source
emsc
Coordinates
-41.36830, 174.63550
Temperature
13.0°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 30 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 30 km
Shallow
30 km
30 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

  • Taranaki
    Distance: 235 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Ruapehu
    Distance: 245 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 260 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 307 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Okataina
    Distance: 391 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Tuhua/Mayor Island
    Distance: 475 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 355 m ·Last eruption: -5055 ·New Zealand

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Wellington International AirportNew Zealand · WLG · NZWN
    15.0 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

New Zealand

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 725 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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