Strong mag. 6.8 earthquake - Kermadec Islands, New Zealand, on Thursday, 24 December 1981 at 05:33 (GMT)

Strong mag. 6.8 earthquake - Kermadec Islands, New Zealand, on Thursday, 24 December 1981 at 05:33 (GMT)

Strong magnitude 6.8 earthquake at 28 km depth

Date & time: 24 Dec 1981 05:33:20 UTC
Magnitude: 6.8
Depth: 28.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 29.97°S / 177.61°W (New Zealand)
Nearest volcano: Raoul Island (83 km / 52 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:
1433 km (891 mi) NNE of Wellington (pop: 381,900) --> See nearby quakes!
Primary data source: USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 1 x 1015 joules (278 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 2.4 x 105 tons of TNT or 14.9 atomic bombs!) More info
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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies

Info: The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
MagnitudeDepthLocationSource
M 6.828 kmKermadec Islands, New ZealandUSGS
Note: for quakes of 2012 and earlier, our database often contains only records from USGS.

User reports for this quake

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Aftershocks of the 6.8 quake Kermadec Islands, New Zealand, 24 December 1981 05:33 GMT

More info
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (59 quakes):
  • 12 May 1982 12:51 UTC
    | M 5.4 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    65 km (40 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 12 May 1982 12:41 UTC
    | M 5.3 |
    53 km (32.9 mi) depth
    |
    63 km (39 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 03 May 1982 05:29 UTC
    | M 5.0 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    36 km (23 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 02 May 1982 18:45 UTC
    | M 5.2 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    81 km (50 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 02 May 1982 14:16 UTC
    | M 5.2 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    96 km (59 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 02 May 1982 13:25 UTC
    | M 5.2 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    93 km (58 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 02 May 1982 12:50 UTC
    | M 5.0 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    81 km (50 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 02 May 1982 11:19 UTC
    | M 6.5 |
    25.4 km (15.8 mi) depth
    |
    85 km (53 mi) distance
    | USGS | Strong mag. 6.5 earthquake - Kermadec Islands, New Zealand, on Sunday, 2 May 1982 at 11:19 (GMT)
  • 01 May 1982 10:27 UTC
    | M 5.4 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    87 km (54 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 01 May 1982 10:11 UTC
    | M 5.0 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    74 km (46 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 01 May 1982 08:46 UTC
    | M 4.9 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    85 km (53 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 01 May 1982 08:43 UTC
    | M 4.9 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    75 km (47 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 01 May 1982 07:41 UTC
    | M 4.9 |
    33 km (20.5 mi) depth
    |
    96 km (59 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 22 Apr 1982 18:32 UTC
    | M 5.1 |
    101.1 km (62.8 mi) depth
    |
    85 km (53 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 15 Apr 1982 08:51 UTC
    | M 5.0 |
    52 km (32.3 mi) depth
    |
    105 km (65 mi) distance
    | USGS | Details
  • 12 Apr 1982 00:34 UTC
    | M 6.1 |
    35 km (21.7 mi) depth
    |
    36 km (22 mi) distance
    | USGS | Strong mag. 6.1 earthquake - Kermadec Islands, New Zealand, on Monday, 12 April 1982 at 00:34 (GMT)
    • Show all

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Earlier earthquakes in the same area since 1900

Strong mag. 6.8 earthquake - Kermadec Islands, New Zealand, on Thursday, 24 December 1981 at 05:33 (GMT)

Map of earlier quakes

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