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Moderate mag. 4.2 earthquake - West Coast, 33 km southwest of South Island, New Zealand, on 5 May 11:55 pm (GMT +12)

Moderate magnitude 4.2 earthquake at 5 km depth

5 May 11:58 UTC: First to report: GEONET (NZ) after 2 minutes.
5 May 12:01: Magnitude recalculated from 4.1 to 4.2. Epicenter location corrected by 1.8 km (1.1 mi) towards SW.

Update Wed, 5 May 2021, 12:03

Magnitude 4.2 earthquake strikes near Hokitika, Westland District, West Coast, New Zealand

4.2 quake 5 May 11:55 pm (GMT +12)

New Zealand's Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey (GeoNet) reported a magnitude 4.2 quake in New Zealand near Hokitika, Westland District, West Coast, only 7 minutes ago. The earthquake hit late at night on Wednesday 5 May 2021 at 11:55 pm local time at a very shallow depth of 5 km. 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 4.1 earthquake.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Harihari (pop. 350) located 26 km from the epicenter.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Hokitika (pop. 3,400) located 63 km from the epicenter, Methven (pop. 1,200) 78 km away, Greymouth (pop. 9,400) 95 km away, Greymouth (pop. 9,400) 95 km away, Geraldine (pop. 2,300) 97 km away, and Ashburton (pop. 30,100) 101 km away.

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Earthquake details

Date & time	May 5, 2021 11:55:38 UTC
Local time at epicenter	5 May 11:55 pm (GMT +12)
Status	Confirmed
Magnitude	4.2
Depth	5.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude	43.27179°S / 170.82729°E (Westland District, West Coast, New Zealand)
Antipode	43.272°N / 9.173°W
Shaking intensity	Weak shaking
Felt	4 reports
Primary data source	GEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)
Nearest volcano	###NEARESTVOLCANO2###
Nearby towns and cities	26 km (16 mi) ESE of Harihari (pop: 345) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 63 km (39 mi) S of Hokitika (pop: 3,400) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 78 km (48 mi) WNW of Methven (Canterbury) (pop: 1,240) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 95 km (59 mi) SSW of Greymouth (Grey District) (pop: 9,420) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 97 km (60 mi) NNW of Geraldine (Región de Canterbury) (pop: 2,300) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 101 km (63 mi) NW of Ashburton (Canterbury) (pop: 30,100) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 130 km (81 mi) NNW of Timaru (Región de Canterbury) (pop: 28,000) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 142 km (88 mi) W of Rangiora (Canterbury) (pop: 18,400) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 149 km (92 mi) W of Christchurch (Canterbury) (pop: 363,900) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby 393 km (244 mi) SW of Wellington (pop: 381,900) \| Show on map \| Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quake	Overcast Clouds 3.8°C (39 F), humidity: 94%, wind: 1 m/s (3 kts) from WNW
Estimated seismic energy released	1.3 x 10¹¹ joules (35 megawatt hours, equivalent to 30.1 tons of TNT) \| about seismic energy

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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.

Mag.	Depth	Location	Source
4.2	5 km	New Zealand	GEONET (NZ)
4.1	5 km	4.1 SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND	EMSC

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User reports for this quake (5)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.

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Whataroa, Westland District, West Coast (14.9 km SW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) : Was loud rumbling noise then 3 small jerks close together.

mokihinui / not felt

hokitika / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 5-10 s

Hari Hari / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / very short : very noisy roaring, thump

Auckland / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s

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