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New Zealand · Wellington

M4.3 Earthquake near Wellington (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-05-12 09:02:58 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M4.3 earthquake was recorded near Wellington (New Zealand) on May 12, 2026 at 09:02 UTC. With a focal depth of about 25 km, this was a shallow earthquake, whose shaking is usually felt more strongly at the surface. Tremors of this size are distinctly felt and can occasionally cause light damage.

The event was recorded by USGS. New Zealand: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 5 earthquakes, the strongest at M4.0.

Details

ID
bf474d04e65cd875a0bd29a08480af1ff38b817c
Magnitude
M4.3
Depth
24.8 km
UTC time
2026-05-12 09:02:58 UTC
Local time
—
Country
New Zealand
State
Wellington
City
Wellington
Source
usgs
Coordinates
-41.49030, 174.56270
Temperature
12.7°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 24.8 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 24.8 km
Shallow
24.8 km
24.8 km — shallower than the regional average (70.9 km)
Regional average: 70.9 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: 247 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Ruapehu
    Distance: 260 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 275 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 322 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Okataina
    Distance: 406 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Tuhua/Mayor Island
    Distance: 490 km ·Shield ·Elevation: 355 m ·Last eruption: -5055 ·New Zealand

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Wellington International AirportNew Zealand · WLG · NZWN
    27.3 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 ≥ 3.0 · 725 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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