On Saturday Evening a Shallow M5.2 Earthquake struck in the South Pacific Ocean near Gisborne (New Zealand).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 14th, 2024. Last updated December 21st, 2024.

In the South Pacific Ocean 85 kilometer from Gisborne, New Zealand, a shallow and significant MAG-5.2 earthquake occurred in the evening of Saturday December 14th, 2024. Around 240 thousand people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the South Pacific Ocean, 79 kilometers (49 mi) off the coast of New Zealand, 85 kilometer east of Gisborne. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 14, 2024 23:20 (Auckland Time) - Dec 14, 2024 10:20 Universal Time.
Location:	85 km east of Gisborne, New Zealand. Coordinates 38°46'3"S 178°58'14"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 29 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.058 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	III Weak On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 69% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 98% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 240 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 240 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is II, which corresponds with very weak shaking and no damage. Roughly 242,000 people are expected to be exposed to this level. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of New Zealand .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
32,970	I	Not noticable	None
242,000	II	Very weak	None
0	III	Weak	Probably none
0	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in New Zealand . Gisborne in Gisborne, New Zealand is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 85 kilometer (53 mi) east of Gisborne. The intensity of shaking and damage in Gisborne is estimated to be around level II on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (very weak shaking, no damage).

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
85 km (53 mi) W from epicenter	Gisborne Gisborne, New Zealand.	II Weak
195 km (121 mi) WSW from epicenter	Napier Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.	I Not felt
195 km (121 mi) WNW from epicenter	Whakatane Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.	II Weak
202 km (126 mi) WSW from epicenter	Taradale Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.	II Weak
207 km (129 mi) WSW from epicenter	Hastings Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.	II Weak
247 km (153 mi) WNW from epicenter	Rotorua Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
251 km (156 mi) W from epicenter	Taupo Waikato, New Zealand.
273 km (170 mi) WNW from epicenter	Tauranga Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is III.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 6 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 6 people have reported shaking in 2 places in New Zealand.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Gisborne, Gisborne, New Zealand: 5 people.
Whakatane, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand: 1 person.

Risk of aftershocks?

This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since November 27th, 2024, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 130 km (81 mi) further north-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck on March 4th, 2021.

In total, 48 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 months.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.2. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 21/12/24 10:58 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.