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New Zealand · Waikato

M1.5 Earthquake near Taupō District, Waikato (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-10-31 08:19:29 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M1.5 earthquake was recorded near Taupō District, Waikato (New Zealand) on October 31, 2026 at 08:19 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 17 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Events of this size typically go unnoticed.

The data is provided by GeoNet and cross-checked across seismological networks. New Zealand: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 58 earthquakes, the strongest at M3.2.

Details

ID
63de0139a0d8debd002e4f3ec1dff057ad7c789f
Magnitude
M1.5
Depth
16.5 km
UTC time
2026-10-31 08:19:29 UTC
Local time
—
Country
New Zealand
State
Waikato
City
Taupō District
County
Taupō District
Source
geonet
Coordinates
-38.58496, 176.12436
Temperature
6.2°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 (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

  • Taupo
    Distance: 30 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Okataina
    Distance: 58 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 77 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Ruapehu
    Distance: 91 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tuhua/Mayor Island
    Distance: 146 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 355 m ·Last eruption: -5055 ·New Zealand
  • Whakaari/White Island
    Distance: 150 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 294 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·New Zealand

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Taupo AirportNew Zealand · TUO · NZAP
    17.6 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-11-14

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

Waikato

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 2.0 · 66 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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