Bay of Plenty, New Zealand – Earthquakes

This page summarizes earthquakes in Bay of Plenty (New Zealand). The most recently recorded event was a magnitude M4.0 earthquake near Whakatāne District on 2026-10-03 15:28:35 UTC. All event lists and map markers are limited to the last 30 days.

Seismic profile ↓
Earthquakes (last 30 days)
11
Max magnitude (last 30 days)
M4.1
Avg magnitude (last 30 days)
M3.61
Avg depth (last 30 days)
163 km

Seismic profile

Analysis period04 Oct 2025 – 04 Oct 2026Data as of: 04 Oct 2026 · 19:00 UTC
Minimum magnitude

What the data show

Bay of Plenty · M ≥ 2.0

After source reconciliation, the catalogue contains 83 event entries of M2.0 or above for this area and period, spread over 65 days.

Catalogue entries8304 Oct 2025 – 04 Oct 2026
Strongest recorded earthquakeM4.8Bay of Plenty ↗
Depth · median139.3 km83 events with valid depth
Last 30 days11Previous 30 days: 15

These figures describe the stored catalogue. Recording, magnitude types and geographic attribution may vary by source and period; completeness has not been established.

04 Oct 2025 – 04 Oct 2026

Earthquakes by month

M ≥ 2.0

Each bar counts events within the selected period. Hatched months are only partially included.

View data table
MonthAnalysis periodCatalogue entries
October 2025 · Partial month04 Oct 2025 – 31 Oct 20250
November 202501 Nov 2025 – 30 Nov 20250
December 202501 Dec 2025 – 31 Dec 20250
January 202601 Jan 2026 – 31 Jan 202610
February 202601 Feb 2026 – 28 Feb 20269
March 202601 Mar 2026 – 31 Mar 20264
April 202601 Apr 2026 – 30 Apr 20261
May 202601 May 2026 – 31 May 20266
June 202601 Jun 2026 – 30 Jun 202610
July 202601 Jul 2026 – 31 Jul 202614
August 202601 Aug 2026 – 31 Aug 202616
September 202601 Sep 2026 – 30 Sep 202612
October 2026 · Partial month01 Oct 2026 – 04 Oct 20261

How strong were the earthquakes?

Catalogue entries · 83

M 2.0 – < 3.00
M 3.0 – < 4.074
M 4.0 – < 5.09
M 5.0 – < 6.00
M ≥ 6.00

At what depth did they occur?

83 events with valid depth

0 – < 30 km23
30 – < 70 km7
70 – < 300 km49
300 – 750 km4

0 events without valid depth are excluded here.

Depth · median

Half of the available values lie on either side of the median; ties are possible.

Current period in context

Last 30 days11
Previous 30 days15
Median of the eleven previous 30-day periods7

Same magnitude threshold, separate periods. Differences may also reflect changes in recording. No hazard level or forecast is inferred.

Where were earthquakes recorded?

Events assigned to Bay of Plenty in the stored location data are analysed. This is not a radius search. Missing or different attributions are excluded.

The interactive map complements the event links on this page.

Marker size and colour indicate magnitude.

Strongest recorded earthquake

04 Oct 2025 – 04 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 2.0

Data and methodology

Analysis period: 04 Oct 2025 19:00 – 04 Oct 2026 19:00 UTC

Data and methodology

Reports are first reconciled using existing event associations. Additional reports from different sources are consolidated only when every pair is within 5 seconds, 10 km and 0.5 magnitude units, source groups do not overlap and exactly one group matches. Ambiguous cases remain separate. The preferred report determines magnitude, time and area; period and magnitude filters are applied afterwards. The start is included and the end excluded (UTC).

0 additional source reports were consolidated during source reconciliation.

Events assigned to Bay of Plenty in the stored location data are analysed. This is not a radius search. Missing or different attributions are excluded.

These figures describe the stored catalogue. Recording, magnitude types and geographic attribution may vary by source and period; completeness has not been established.

Source reports used

The preferred report of each group is counted. Source priority follows the earthquake list. Different magnitude types and recording gaps limit comparability.

  • EMSC80
  • USGS3

The profile is recalculated hourly from the earthquake catalogue. Later source revisions may also change historical values.

Data as of: 04 Oct 2026 · 19:33 UTC

Map (last 30 days)

< 2 2–4 4–5 ≥ 5

About Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty Region is a local government region in the North Island of New Zealand. Also called just the Bay of Plenty (BOP), it is situated around the marine bight of that same name.

Seismic activity in 2026

In 2026, Bay of Plenty recorded 83 earthquakes within New Zealand. The average magnitude was M3.39. The strongest event reached M4.8.

Based on the number of recorded earthquakes in 2026, Bay of Plenty is currently among the Top 5 most active regions in New Zealand (rank #2 by count).

Located on the Australia Plate.

Earthquakes in Bay of Plenty (last 30 days)

M4.0
Whakatāne District
2026-10-03 · 15:28 UTC · 5 km
›
M3.7
Whakatāne
2026-09-28 · 01:58 UTC · 118 km
›
M4.1
Bay of Plenty
2026-09-27 · 20:49 UTC · 154 km
›
M4.0
Rotorua Lakes District
2026-09-24 · 04:41 UTC · 170 km
›
M3.2
Rotorua Lakes District
2026-09-21 · 23:57 UTC · 125 km
›
M3.2
Western Bay of Plenty District
2026-09-20 · 16:10 UTC · 212 km
›
M3.8
Whakatāne District
2026-09-17 · 08:00 UTC · 164 km
›
M3.6
Rotorua Lakes District
2026-09-16 · 17:28 UTC · 193 km
›
M3.3
Te Puke
2026-09-16 · 16:52 UTC · 178 km
›
M3.2
Rotorua Lakes District
2026-09-08 · 01:42 UTC · 253 km
›
M3.4
Bay of Plenty
2026-09-07 · 14:44 UTC · 256 km
›