New Zealand Earthquake Today — Live Map & Recent Quakes
Track New Zealand earthquake today in real time with live map data and latest tremors updated every 60s from USGS. New Zealand straddles two tectonic plates and regularly experiences significant earthquakes.
Quakes Today
1
Past 7 Days
2
Strongest (7d)
M4.9
M5+ Events
0
Live New Zealand Earthquake Map
Earthquakes in New Zealand
2 events · Past 7 Days
- M4.9
Kermadec Islands, New Zealand
35 km deep
·21h ago
M4.935 km21h ago - M4.9
69 km SSW of Patea, New Zealand
98 km deep
·2d ago
M4.998 km2d ago
About Earthquake Activity in New Zealand
New Zealand (Aotearoa) sits directly across the boundary separating the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. Revered in Māori tradition as 'Rūaumoko' (the god of earthquakes and volcanoes), New Zealand registers over 20,000 seismic events per year, with about 150 to 250 strong enough to be felt.
Why does New Zealand experience earthquakes?
The plate boundary slicing through New Zealand undergoes a dramatic transition from north to south. North of Wellington, the oceanic Pacific Plate subducts westward beneath the Australian Plate along the Hikurangi Trench. In the South Island, the boundary shifts into an onshore continental collision: the 800-kilometer-long Alpine Fault is a transpressional strike-slip fault sliding at 27 millimeters per year and uplifting the Southern Alps. Southwest of the South Island, subduction flips again along the Puysegur Trench. This intense compression fractures the islands into hundreds of active secondary faults like those responsible for the devastating Canterbury and Kaikōura sequences.
Key Facts About New Zealand Seismicity
~5.2 million
GeoNet
GeoNet (GNS Science)
- Alpine Fault
- Hikurangi Subduction Zone
- Marlborough Fault System
- Wellington Fault
Oblique continental collision between Pacific and Australian Plates
- 2011 Christchurch (Canterbury) EarthquakeM6.2
- 2016 Kaikōura Fault Multi-RuptureM7.8
- 1931 Hawke's Bay (Napier) EarthquakeM7.8
Frequently Asked Questions About Earthquakes in New Zealand
Expert answers to common questions about seismic risks, fault lines, and earthquake activity in New Zealand.
View the live tracker above for earthquakes detected across both the North and South Islands of New Zealand, including the Wellington region, Canterbury, and the Kermadec Trench.
New Zealand straddles the boundary where the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates collide. In the North Island, the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Australian Plate; in the South Island, they scrape past each other along the Alpine Fault.
On February 22, 2011, a shallow magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck directly beneath Christchurch, producing extremely high peak ground acceleration that caused severe damage to the city center and 185 casualties.
GeoNet is New Zealand's official geological hazard monitoring network, operated by GNS Science, providing continuous real-time data on earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and landslides.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) promotes 'Drop, Cover, and Hold'. For coastal residents, the rule is: 'If it\'s Long or Strong, Get Gone'—evacuate immediately inland or uphill without waiting for an official siren.