Moderate magnitude 4.2 earthquake at 4 km depth
18 Mar 21:44 UTC: First to report: GEONET (NZ) after 1 minute.
18 Mar 21:48: Magnitude recalculated from 4.3 to 4.2. Hypocenter depth recalculated from 7.9 to 4.3 km (from 4.9 to 2.7 mi). Epicenter location corrected by 2.8 km (1.8 mi) towards NNW.
Update Sat, 18 Mar 2023, 22:12
Moderate tremor of magnitude 4.2 just reported 24 km southwest of Whakatane, New Zealand
4.2 quake New Zealand Mar 19, 2023 10:42 am (GMT +13)
An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 occurred in the morning on Sunday, March 19th, 2023, at 10:42 am local time near Whakatane, Whakatane District, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, as reported by New Zealand's Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey (GeoNet).
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a very shallow depth of 4.3 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.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.3 earthquake. A third agency, the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake, reported the same 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 Te Teko (pop. 440) located 6 km from the epicenter, Kawerau (pop. 6,700) 7 km away, and Edgecumbe (pop. 1,800) 11 km away, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Awakeri (pop. 2,300) located 16 km from the epicenter, Whakatane (pop. 18,600) 24 km away, and Rotorua (pop. 65,900) 43 km away.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Ngongotaha (pop. 5,200) located 46 km from the epicenter, and Tauranga (pop. 110,300) 62 km away.
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