Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand – Earthquakes

This page summarizes earthquakes in Manawatū-Whanganui (New Zealand). The most recently recorded event was a magnitude M3.5 earthquake near Ruapehu District on 2026-10-12 15:14:46 UTC. All event lists and map markers are limited to the last 30 days.

Seismic profile ↓
Earthquakes (last 30 days)
8
Max magnitude (last 30 days)
M4.2
Avg magnitude (last 30 days)
M3.68
Avg depth (last 30 days)
89 km

Seismic profile

Analysis period05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026Data as of: 05 Oct 2026 · 16:00 UTC
Minimum magnitude

The last update is over two hours old. The figures reflect the data timestamp shown below.

What the data show

Manawatū-Whanganui · M ≥ 3.0

After source reconciliation, the catalogue contains 71 event entries of M3.0 or above for this area and period, spread over 57 days.

Catalogue entries7105 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026
Strongest recorded earthquakeM5.7Ruapehu District ↗
Depth · median19.8 km71 events with valid depth
Last 30 days9Previous 30 days: 8

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

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026

Earthquakes by month

M ≥ 3.0

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

View data table
MonthAnalysis periodCatalogue entries
October 2025 · Partial month05 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 202611
February 202601 Feb 2026 – 28 Feb 202610
March 202601 Mar 2026 – 31 Mar 20261
April 202601 Apr 2026 – 30 Apr 20263
May 202601 May 2026 – 31 May 20264
June 202601 Jun 2026 – 30 Jun 20268
July 202601 Jul 2026 – 31 Jul 202617
August 202601 Aug 2026 – 31 Aug 20267
September 202601 Sep 2026 – 30 Sep 20269
October 2026 · Partial month01 Oct 2026 – 05 Oct 20261

How strong were the earthquakes?

Catalogue entries · 71

M 3.0 – < 4.064
M 4.0 – < 5.06
M 5.0 – < 6.01
M ≥ 6.00

At what depth did they occur?

71 events with valid depth

0 – < 30 km43
30 – < 70 km5
70 – < 300 km22
300 – 750 km1

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 days9
Previous 30 days8
Median of the eleven previous 30-day periods3

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 Manawatū-Whanganui 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

05 Oct 2025 – 05 Oct 2026 · M ≥ 3.0

Data and methodology

Analysis period: 05 Oct 2025 16:00 – 05 Oct 2026 16:00 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 Manawatū-Whanganui 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.

  • EMSC68
  • USGS3

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

Data as of: 05 Oct 2026 · 16:32 UTC

Map (last 30 days)

< 2 2–4 4–5 ≥ 5

About Manawatū-Whanganui

Manawatū-Whanganui is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council, which operates under the name Horizons Regional Council.

Seismic activity in 2026

In 2026, Manawatū-Whanganui recorded 76 earthquakes within New Zealand. The average magnitude was M3.49. The strongest event reached M5.8.

Based on the number of recorded earthquakes in 2026, Manawatū-Whanganui is currently among the Top 5 most active regions in New Zealand (rank #3 by count).

Considering the strongest recorded event in 2026, Manawatū-Whanganui is among the Top 5 strongest regions in New Zealand (rank #3 by max magnitude).

Located on the Australia Plate.

Earthquakes in Manawatū-Whanganui (last 30 days)

M3.5
Ruapehu District
2026-10-12 · 15:14 UTC · 143 km
›
M3.9
Tararua District
2026-10-12 · 06:52 UTC · 26 km
›
M4.1
Ruapehu District
2026-10-08 · 13:53 UTC · 5 km
›
M3.1
Stratford District
2026-10-04 · 16:16 UTC · 18 km
›
M3.3
Stratford District
2026-09-30 · 20:37 UTC · 169 km
›
M4.2
Woodville
2026-09-27 · 10:32 UTC · 49 km
›
M3.6
Stratford District
2026-09-22 · 03:16 UTC · 204 km
›
M3.2
Ruapehu District
2026-09-18 · 00:45 UTC · 160 km
›