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New Zealand · Wellington

M1.6 Earthquake near Wellington (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-10-25 18:35:43 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M1.6 earthquake was recorded near Wellington (New Zealand) on October 25, 2026 at 18:35 UTC. With a focal depth of about 5 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: 57 earthquakes were recorded in the past 24 hours, the strongest reaching M3.2.

Details

ID
b365f9b83a749a7f2012fb9b63118de062339fc2
Magnitude
M1.6
Depth
5.0 km
UTC time
2026-10-25 18:35:43 UTC
Local time
—
Country
New Zealand
State
Wellington
City
Wellington
Source
geonet
Coordinates
-40.75946, 174.85066
Temperature
11.1°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 5 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 5 km
Shallow
5 km
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

  • Taranaki
    Distance: 175 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Ruapehu
    Distance: 176 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 190 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 237 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
  • Tuhua/Mayor Island
    Distance: 405 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 355 m ·Last eruption: -5055 ·New Zealand

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Otaki AirportNew Zealand · NZOT
    25.5 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

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

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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