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New Zealand · Manawatū-Whanganui

M5.7 Earthquake near Ruapehu District, Manawatū-Whanganui (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-07-24 16:51:38 UTC Local time: —
Earthquake newsQuakeMap24
Archive record · original publication time was not recorded Content updated:

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

Magnitude
M5.7
Depth
10.0 km
Source
USGS

Manawatū-Whanganui · Ruapehu District

Country overview

Map

M5.7 Earthquake near Ruapehu District, Manawatū-Whanganui (New Zealand) · 2026-07-24 — Map showing the location of the epicenter
M5.7 Earthquake near Ruapehu District, Manawatū-Whanganui (New Zealand) · 2026-07-24 — Map showing the location of the epicenter

About this earthquake

A magnitude M5.7 earthquake was recorded near Ruapehu District, Manawatū-Whanganui (New Zealand) on July 24, 2026 at 16:51 UTC. The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 10 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Earthquakes of this magnitude can damage poorly built structures.

The event was recorded by USGS. New Zealand: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 3 earthquakes, the strongest at M3.3.

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 10 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 10 km
Shallow
10 km
10 km — shallower than the regional average (69.6 km)
Regional average: 69.6 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

Felt reports

1felt reports at EMSC / LastQuake

Voluntary reports of feeling this earthquake. The count is not an intensity measurement and is not added to USGS DYFI reports.

Data updated: Jul 24, 2026, 7:57 PM UTC · Last checked: Sep 6, 2026, 12:18 PM UTC

Source: EMSC / LastQuake

Estimated impact

Green No or minimal impact expected.
Estimated population exposed
IV 293'957
V 1'845
VI 3'805

≈ 3'810 people experienced strong to very strong shaking.

74 Felt reports · max reported intensity 5.6

Ground shaking

VII
Very strong · Intensity (MMI) VII
Moderate damage possible.

Tectonic context

Located on the Australia Plate.
Near the boundary Kermadec ↔ Australia · about 43 km away

Nearby population centers

Distances are straight-line distances from the epicenter. Population data: GeoNames.

PlaceDistanceDirectionPopulation
Taupo79.9 kmNE27'000
Hamilton131.1 kmN192'100
Auckland238.6 kmN1'547'200

GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Volcanoes nearby

  • Tongariro
    Distance: 41 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Ruapehu
    Distance: 46 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 61 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Taranaki
    Distance: 107 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Okataina
    Distance: 142 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Tuhua/Mayor Island
    Distance: 207 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 355 m ·Last eruption: -5055 ·New Zealand

Radius · 100 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Taupo AirportNew Zealand · TUO · NZAP
    77.7 kmStraight-line distance
  • New Plymouth AirportNew Zealand · NPL · NZNP
    91.3 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-09-20

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

Subsequent earthquakes nearby

Events recorded after this earthquake within 150 km. They are not automatically classified as aftershocks.

First 6 hours3
First 24 hours4
First 72 hours8
Strongest subsequent eventM3.8
M3.02026-07-24 17:03:19 UTC4.2 kmRuapehu District M3.72026-07-24 17:21:50 UTC6.2 kmRuapehu District M3.22026-07-24 20:34:51 UTC5.5 kmRuapehu District M3.22026-07-24 23:14:40 UTC82.2 kmRuapehu District M3.02026-07-25 17:30:47 UTC2.6 kmRuapehu District M3.12026-07-26 03:42:22 UTC69.2 kmTaupō District M3.52026-07-26 12:05:17 UTC44.0 kmRuapehu District M3.22026-07-27 06:23:09 UTC144.0 kmŌmanawa Falls M3.22026-07-28 00:17:38 UTC100.9 kmNORTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND M3.22026-07-28 22:33:57 UTC128.2 kmRotorua Lakes District M3.52026-08-03 08:23:05 UTC121.6 kmTaranaki M3.32026-08-03 22:45:26 UTC116.1 kmRotorua Lakes District

Comparison of seismic sources

4 sources currently report magnitudes from M5.5 to M5.8.

Measurements can differ because agencies use different networks and calculation methods. Values may be revised.

SourceMagnitudeDepthPosition difference
EMSCM5.810.0 km2.9 km
GFZM5.510.0 km32.3 km
INGVM5.813.9 km7.2 km
USGSM5.710.0 km0.0 km

Manawatū-Whanganui

Context for this earthquake

20 Sep 2025 – 20 Sep 2026 · M ≥ 3.0 · 104 Catalogue entries

Of 103 other entries for this area and period, 0 have a higher stored magnitude. Different magnitude types and reports not yet merged limit the comparison.

Open seismic profile

Historical context nearby

Comparison with recorded earthquakes before this event within 150 km.

Magnitude rank#1
Earlier events M≥428
Earlier events M≥54
Compared since2025-01-06

The QuakeMap24 comparison dataset begins on 2024-03-23. Earlier earthquakes may not be included.

Strongest earlier events

M5.12026-01-08 19:29:37 UTC107.5 kmSouth Taranaki District M5.02026-01-08 19:29:37 UTC118.9 kmTaranaki M5.02026-01-08 19:29:36 UTC118.8 kmTaranaki M5.02026-01-08 19:29:36 UTC116.8 kmTaranaki M4.92026-05-09 21:52:48 UTC28.9 kmRuapehu District

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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