M6.0 earthquake in South of the Kermadec Islands on April 16, 2026

On April 16, 2026 at 13:30 UTC the ground shook with a magnitude 6.0 earthquake. The epicenter was South of the Kermadec Islands, with the focus 12 km deep. It was a shallow quake, and shallow quakes are usually felt most strongly at the surface.

6.0magnitude
12 kmdepth
13:30time UTC
greenUSGS alert
Live earthquake map →

Key facts

The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert, expecting little impact.

Nearest cities

  • Central Coast (Australia)2,827 km
  • Sunshine Coast (Australia)2,828 km
  • Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)4,352 km
  • Merauke (Indonesia)4,996 km
  • Jayapura (Indonesia)5,396 km

Did you feel an earthquake?

Report it to seismologists. These reports help work out quickly where the shaking was strongest. It takes a minute.

Report to USGS (Did You Feel It?)Report to EMSC (LastQuake)

Aftershocks

Since then USGS has recorded 72 quakes of magnitude 4.5 or more within 150 km, the strongest M5.9.

  • M5.9 · Apr 18, 10:47 UTC26 km
  • M5.4 · Apr 18, 18:29 UTC30 km
  • M5.2 · Apr 20, 07:04 UTC29 km
  • M5.2 · Apr 19, 05:35 UTC58 km
  • M5.1 · Jul 30, 17:48 UTC95 km
  • M5.1 · Jul 18, 05:46 UTC72 km
  • M5.1 · Jun 26, 06:18 UTC60 km
  • M5.1 · Jun 22, 19:46 UTC26 km

Regional history

Since 1976 there have been 146 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more within 300 km. The strongest was M8.1 (March 4, 2021).

  • M8.1 · March 4, 2021287 km
  • M7.4 · March 4, 2021278 km
  • M7.4 · June 18, 2020135 km
  • M7.4 · May 16, 2006100 km
  • M7.3 · June 15, 2019168 km

See also

Live earthquake mapAll earthquakes todayWeather in Central CoastEvent details at USGS

Source: USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (public domain). Seismologists may still revise the data. Data from Jul 3, 01:37 UTC.