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Light magnitude 4.5 quake hits 25 km northwest of Motueka, New Zealand in the morning

A intermediate to deep magnitude 4.5 earthquake was reported in the morning near Motueka, Tasman District, Tasman, New Zealand.
According to New Zealand's Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey (GeoNet), the quake hit on Saturday 26 December 2020 at 11:05 am local time at an intermediate to considerable depth of 196.9 km. The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.5 earthquake as well.
According to preliminary calculations, we do not expect that the quake was felt by many people and did not cause any damage. In Riwaka (pop. 990, 20 km away), Motueka (pop. 7,500, 25 km away), Mapua (pop. 1,800, 40 km away), Tapawera (pop. 430, 49 km away), Richmond (pop. 14,000, 51 km away), Nelson (pop. 59,200, 52 km away), Wakefield (pop. 1,700, 53 km away), and Brightwater (pop. 1,700, 53 km away), the quake was probably not felt.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.

Earthquake data:
Date & time: Fri, 25 Dec 22:05 UTC
Magnitude: 4.6
Depth: 174.7 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 40.94318°S / 172.87474°E
Primary data source: GEONET (NZ)