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New Zealand · West Coast

M3.2 Earthquake near Westland District, West Coast (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-08-16 12:26:22 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

On August 16, 2026 at 12:26 UTC, a magnitude M3.2 earthquake occurred near Westland District, West Coast (New Zealand). With a focal depth of about 5 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Earthquakes of this magnitude are often felt but rarely cause damage.

The event was recorded by EMSC. New Zealand: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 5 earthquakes, the strongest at M4.0.

Details

ID
0d4a2d7918e14b857f6fd4f401f685285e2085ef
Magnitude
M3.2
Depth
5.0 km
UTC time
2026-08-16 12:26:22 UTC
Local time
—
Country
New Zealand
State
West Coast
City
Westland District
County
Westland District
Source
emsc
Coordinates
-43.04900, 171.03340
Temperature
-1.3°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 5 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 5 km
Shallow
5 km
5 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: 488 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Hokitika AirfieldNew Zealand · HKK · NZHK
    37.5 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

West Coast

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 30 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

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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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