M5.6 Earthquake south of the Kermadec Islands — December 20, 2022
2022-12-20 16:38:41 UTC (2022-12-20) · approx. 4:38 AM UTC-12 local
Maximum shaking intensity MMI 4.8 (moderate).
On December 20, 2022 at 16:38 UTC, a magnitude 5.6 shallow crustal earthquake struck south of the Kermadec Islands, at a depth of 39.0 km and coordinates -33.7962°, -179.7541°. The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 68 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 482, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.6 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 4 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 4.4 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity
Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Earthquake Details
-179.7541°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.6 earthquake south of the Kermadec Islands?
The magnitude 5.6 earthquake that struck south of the Kermadec Islands on December 20, 2022 at 16:38 UTC had a depth of 39.0 km. For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at -33.7962°, -179.7541°, which is south of the Kermadec Islands.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.6 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000jall). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2022, December 20, 2022). M5.6 Earthquake south of the Kermadec Islands — December 20, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000jall/