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New Zealand · Wellington

M1.8 Earthquake near Featherston Community, Wellington (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-10-27 21:20:10 UTC Local time: —
Magnitude
M1.8
Depth
23.1 km
Source
GEONET

Wellington · Featherston Community

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About this earthquake

On October 27, 2026 at 21:20 UTC, a magnitude M1.8 earthquake occurred near Featherston Community, Wellington (New Zealand). With a focal depth of about 23 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 event was recorded by GeoNet. New Zealand: 44 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M4.2.

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 23.1 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 23.1 km
Shallow
23.1 km
23.1 km — shallower than the regional average (69.8 km)
Regional average: 69.8 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: 200 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 215 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Taranaki
    Distance: 225 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 259 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Okataina
    Distance: 339 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Whakaari/White Island
    Distance: 426 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
    35.8 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

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

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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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