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Moderate mag. 4.7 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 21 km southeast of Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand, on Saturday, Mar 18, 2023 at 1:42 pm (GMT +13) -

Moderate mag. 4.7 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 21 km southeast of Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand, on Saturday, Mar 18, 2023 at 1:42 pm (GMT +13) Moderate mag. 4.7 earthquake - South Pacific Ocean, 21 km southeast of Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand, on Saturday, Mar 18, 2023 at 1:42 pm (GMT +13)

Moderate magnitude 4.7 earthquake at 5 km depth

18 Mar 00:43 UTC: First to report: GEONET (NZ) after 59 seconds.
18 Mar 00:44: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 10.9 to 13.9 km (from 6.8 to 8.6 mi).
... [show all] ...
18 Mar 00:54: Hypocenter depth recalculated from 4.4 to 5.0 km (from 2.7 to 3.1 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 0.6 km (0.4 mi) towards SSE.
Update Sat, 18 Mar 2023, 01:03

Moderate earthquake of magnitude 4.7 just reported 21 km southeast of Christchurch, New Zealand

4.7 quake 18 Mar 1:42 pm (GMT +13)
4.7 quake 18 Mar 1:42 pm (GMT +13)
A very shallow magnitude 4.7 earthquake was reported around noon near Christchurch, Christchurch City, Canterbury, New Zealand.
According to New Zealand's Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey (GeoNet), the quake hit on Saturday, March 18th, 2023, at 1:42 pm local time at a very shallow depth of 5 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. 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.
Our monitoring service identified a second report from the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake which listed the quake at magnitude 4.3.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Governors Bay (pop. 940) located 16 km from the epicenter, New Brighton (pop. 6,200) 18 km away, Christchurch (pop. 363,900) 21 km away, and Fendalton (pop. 4,600) 25 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Prebbleton (pop. 3,600) located 27 km from the epicenter, Belfast (pop. 4,500) 28 km away, Kaiapoi (pop. 10,200) 35 km away, and Rangiora (pop. 18,400) 44 km away.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Ashburton (pop. 30,100) located 93 km from the epicenter.
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.

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Earthquake details

Date & timeMar 18, 2023 00:42:06 UTC -
Local time at epicenterSaturday, Mar 18, 2023 at 1:42 pm (GMT +13)
StatusConfirmed
Magnitude4.7
Depth5.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude43.6574°S / 172.83434°E (South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand)
Antipode43.657°N / 7.166°W
Shaking intensityLight shaking
Felt36 reports
Primary data sourceGEONET (NZ) (Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey, New Zealand)
Nearby towns and cities16 km (10 mi) ESE of Governors Bay (pop: 940) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
21 km (13 mi) SE of Christchurch (pop: 363,900) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
27 km (17 mi) ESE of Prebbleton (pop: 3,600) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
35 km (22 mi) SSE of Kaiapoi (pop: 10,200) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
37 km (23 mi) ESE of Rolleston (pop: 3,120) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
44 km (27 mi) SSE of Rangiora (pop: 18,400) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
93 km (58 mi) ENE of Ashburton (pop: 30,100) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
308 km (191 mi) SSW of Wellington (pop: 381,900) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
40 km (25 mi) SSW of Pegasus Island (pop: 350) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
165 km (103 mi) ESE of South Island (pop: 1,135,500) | Show on map | Quakes nearby
Weather at epicenter at time of quakeClear Sky 19.1°C (66 F), humidity: 67%, wind: 1 m/s (3 kts) from ESE
Estimated seismic energy released7.1 x 1011 joules (197 megawatt hours, equivalent to 169 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.DepthLocationSource
4.75 kmNew ZealandGEONET (NZ)
4.312 kmSouth Island, New ZealandRaspberryShake
4.320 km4.3 SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALANDEMSC
4.510 kmSouth Island of New ZealandUSGS
4.510 kmOff East Coast of South Island, New ZealandGFZ

User reports for this quake (36)

User reports estimate the perceived ground shaking intensity according to the MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) scale.
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Richmond Christchurch / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s : Heard it first then boom kinda jumping around n tilting and rocking. Rather hard to describe. We stood up and went to check on the cats. Thankfully it didn't continue. New Zealand is a rocking today... Check your kits and take care xo | 2 users found this interesting.  
Halswell Quarry (21.7 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s : Very odd feeling, came suddenly didn’t last long but felt to be coming in fast, stopped part way through then continued | One user found this interesting.  
Halswell Quarry (21.7 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 5-10 s : Very odd feeling, came suddenly didn’t last long but felt to be coming in fast, stopped part way through then continued  
Christchurch (28.5 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s : Large thump under my feet, then noise and house was wrenched and rocked. This was stronger than the last few recently. This frightened the cat. Burnside area near airport (reported through our app)  
65 norwich street, linwood, christchurch / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 5-10 s : Heard and felt and the house was like a ship at sea unabke to stand and balamce and not knowing where to look or turn for where the children are sd have 4 (reported through our app)  
Sumner, Christchurch / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : Heard a bang then felt shaking which got stronger before easing off. Went on for a while. | One user found this interesting.  
duvauchelle (14.6 km SE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : House creaking and shaking, objects in hours shaking violently.  
Rangiora (42.8 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : A shake  
Christchurch, New Zealand (19.3 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s
duvauchelle (14.6 km SE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : House creaking and shaking, objects in hours shaking violently.  
Christchurch (22.7 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III)
Lyttelton, Christchurch, New zealand (10.9 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : Cafe lyttelton  
Pegasus christchurch (40.8 km NNW of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) : Not bad  
Gebbies Valley / Moderate shaking (MMI V)
Wainui / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s
Linwood / Weak shaking (MMI III) / 1-2 s
Lyttelton / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s
Burwood / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / rattling, vibrating / 20-30 s : Moderate shaking  
Linwood,, Christchurch / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 2-5 s
sumner beach / Light shaking (MMI IV) / 5-10 s
Akaroa / Weak shaking (MMI III)
Rangiora / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s
Northwood Christchurch / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / simple rolling (tilting sideways along one direction) / 2-5 s : Felt a good bump, the a rolling motion. Lasted a few seconds  
Christchurch / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s
Kaiapoi / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single vertical bump / 5-10 s : Small jolt. Rattled China cabinet doors. Over quickly.  
Pegasus / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Light shaking of the couch I'm sitting on.  
Mt Pleasant, christchurch / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex rolling (tilting in multiple directions) / 10-15 s
Swannanoa / Weak shaking (MMI III) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 2-5 s
Christchurch / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s (reported through our app)
Christchurch / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s
Cashmere chch / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 20-30 s
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