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New Zealand · Wellington

M1.6 Earthquake near Wellington (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-11-12 16:27:23 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

On November 12, 2026 at 16:27 UTC, a magnitude M1.6 earthquake occurred near Wellington (New Zealand). With a focal depth of about 16 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Earthquakes of this small magnitude are usually barely noticeable and cause no damage.

The data is provided by GeoNet and cross-checked across seismological networks. New Zealand: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 65 earthquakes, the strongest at M3.2.

Details

ID
4752d0f6c060861d1c7c05939cc1c33b0fd53138
Magnitude
M1.6
Depth
16.2 km
UTC time
2026-11-12 16:27:23 UTC
Local time
—
Country
New Zealand
State
Wellington
City
Wellington
County
Wellington City
Source
geonet
Coordinates
-41.34817, 174.77917
Temperature
14.5°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 16.2 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 16.2 km
Shallow
16.2 km
16.2 km — shallower than the regional average (64.1 km)
Regional average: 64.1 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: 236 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Ruapehu
    Distance: 240 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 254 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 301 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Okataina
    Distance: 384 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Tuhua/Mayor Island
    Distance: 470 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
    3.3 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-11-13

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 ≥ 2.0 · 728 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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