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New Zealand · Manawatū-Whanganui

M1.6 Earthquake near Palmerston North, Manawatū-Whanganui (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-10-27 09:08:29 UTC Local time: —
Magnitude
M1.6
Depth
4.4 km
Source
GEONET

Manawatū-Whanganui · Palmerston North

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M1.6 earthquake was recorded near Palmerston North, Manawatū-Whanganui (New Zealand) on October 27, 2026 at 09:08 UTC. With a focal depth of about 4 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Events of this size typically go unnoticed.

The event was recorded by GeoNet. New Zealand: 60 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M3.2.

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 4.4 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 4.4 km
Shallow
4.4 km
4.4 km — shallower than the regional average (64.2 km)
Regional average: 64.2 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: 130 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 144 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Taranaki
    Distance: 182 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 188 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Okataina
    Distance: 267 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Whakaari/White Island
    Distance: 354 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 294 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·New Zealand

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Palmerston North AirportNew Zealand · PMR · NZPM
    14.8 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

Manawatū-Whanganui

Context for this earthquake

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 2.0 · 107 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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