Back to map
New Zealand · Wellington

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

UTC time: 2026-10-28 04:54:44 UTC Local time: —
Magnitude
M1.8
Depth
22.3 km
Source
GEONET

Wellington · Featherston Community

Country overview

Map

About this earthquake

On October 28, 2026 at 04:54 UTC, a magnitude M1.8 earthquake occurred near Featherston Community, Wellington (New Zealand). The hypocenter lay relatively close to the surface at around 22 km, increasing how strongly it was felt. Earthquakes of this small magnitude are usually barely noticeable and cause no damage.

The event was recorded by GeoNet. New Zealand: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 55 earthquakes, the strongest at M4.2.

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 22.3 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 22.3 km
Shallow
22.3 km
22.3 km — shallower than the regional average (70.2 km)
Regional average: 70.2 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: 220 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 234 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Taranaki
    Distance: 235 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 279 km ·Caldera ·Elevation: 760 m ·Last eruption: 260 ·New Zealand
  • Okataina
    Distance: 360 km ·Lava dome(s) ·Elevation: 1'111 m ·Last eruption: 1981 ·New Zealand
  • Whakaari/White Island
    Distance: 447 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 294 m ·Last eruption: 2026 ·New Zealand

Radius · 50 km

Nearby infrastructure

Up to 3 nearest sites per category

Airports

  • Wellington International AirportNew Zealand · WLG · NZWN
    34.3 kmStraight-line distance

Source: OurAirports · Dataset date: 2026-10-28

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.

Share