This undersea earthquake generated recorded tsunami waves across coastal and trans-oceanic sectors. Preserved in seismic archive for scientific reference — no active hazard exists.
A magnitude 7.8 (MW) earthquake occurred on 2016-11-13, 00:02 local time (11:02 UTC) (3630d ago), centered 99 km N of Christchurch (New Zealand). The hypocenter was located at a shallow depth of 15.1 km. Primary telemetry verified by USGS/ISC-GEM alongside 2 regional seismic monitoring networks.
Curated Global Seismic Archive (1700–Present)
7.56 Mt TNT
shallow (Shallow crustal)
Injuries: > 5,000 · ~2.1M felt
Timeline of foreshocks, main rupture, aftershocks and machine learning risk probability evolution.
Shaking intensity is modelled from magnitude, depth and distance (GMPE attenuation), not reported by residents.
| Town | Distance | Intensity |
|---|---|---|
| Christchurch · Canterbury | 99 km | MMI VIII |
| Blenheim · Marlborough | 152 km | MMI VII |
| Nelson · Nelson | 157 km | MMI VII |
| Wellington · Manawatu-Wanganui | 212 km | MMI VII |
| Lower Hutt · Wellington | 228 km | MMI VI |
| Porirua · Wellington | 231 km | MMI VI |
Independent solutions for the same rupture. Differences of 0.1–0.3 in magnitude are normal and reflect method and station coverage.
| Agency | Source ID | Magnitude | Depth | Epicenter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
USGS Primary | official20161113110256_30 | M 7.8 | 15.1 km | -42.69, 173.02 |
USGS Primary | us1000778i | M 7.8 | 15.1 km | -42.74, 173.05 |
Nearest mapped active fault: Kekerengu / Hope Faults (21 segments), 5 km away, slip rate ~15.0 mm/yr (GEM Global Active Faults).
View live seismic monitoring, historical danger benchmarks, fault slip models and recurrence intervals for this zone.