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New Zealand · Wellington

M4.0 Earthquake near Carterton, Wellington (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-09-21 09:23:42 UTC Local time: —
Earthquake newsQuakeMap24
Archive record · original publication time was not recorded

Automatically generated from measurement data by QuakeMap24. Values may change after further analysis.

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M4.0 earthquake was recorded near Carterton, Wellington (New Zealand) on September 21, 2026 at 09:23 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 17 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Tremors of this size are distinctly felt and can occasionally cause light damage.

The event was recorded by EMSC. New Zealand: 2 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M4.0.

Details

ID
636f379b6386f3c00bf0c2631c7c5cf796d66979
Magnitude
M4.0
Depth
16.5 km
UTC time
2026-09-21 09:23:42 UTC
Local time
—
Country
New Zealand
State
Wellington
City
Carterton
County
Carterton District
Source
emsc
Coordinates
-40.95870, 175.54910
Temperature
12.0°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 16.5 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 16.5 km
Shallow
16.5 km
16.5 km — shallower than the regional average (69.5 km)
Regional average: 69.5 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: 187 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 200 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Taranaki
    Distance: 223 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 244 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Okataina
    Distance: 322 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Whakaari/White Island
    Distance: 407 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 294 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·New Zealand

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Otaki AirportNew Zealand · NZOT
    38.6 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-21

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

21 Sep 2025 – 21 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 717 Catalogue entries

Of 716 other entries for this area and period, 61 have a higher stored magnitude. Different magnitude types and reports not yet merged limit the comparison.

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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