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New Zealand · Wellington

M1.8 Earthquake near Wellington (New Zealand)

UTC time: 2026-10-31 07:53:04 UTC Local time: —

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About this earthquake

A magnitude M1.8 earthquake was recorded near Wellington (New Zealand) on October 31, 2026 at 07:53 UTC. With a focal depth of about 35 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: over the past 24 hours, QuakeMap24 logged 58 earthquakes, the strongest at M3.2.

Details

ID
fb62a59ece1a9ecb48f7acb92756aee8ac350bd3
Magnitude
M1.8
Depth
34.8 km
UTC time
2026-10-31 07:53:04 UTC
Local time
—
Country
New Zealand
State
Wellington
City
Wellington
Source
geonet
Coordinates
-41.44915, 174.44046
Temperature
11.6°C

Depth profile

Depth profile Depth: 34.8 km (Shallow) Surface Shallow Intermediate Deep 0 km 70 km 300 km 700 km 34.8 km
Shallow
34.8 km
34.8 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: 241 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'518 m ·Last eruption: 1800 ·New Zealand
  • Ruapehu
    Distance: 259 km ·Stratovolcano ·Elevation: 2'797 m ·Last eruption: 2007 ·New Zealand
  • Tongariro
    Distance: 274 km ·Stratovolcano(es) ·Elevation: 1'978 m ·Last eruption: 2012 ·New Zealand
  • Taupo
    Distance: 321 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: 489 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
    33.5 kmStraight-line distance
  • Picton AerodromeNew Zealand · PCN · NZPN
    42.0 kmStraight-line distance
  • Woodbourne AirportNew Zealand · BHE · NZWB
    48.1 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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