M7.0 Earthquake in the Kermadec Islands region — March 16, 2023
2023-03-16 00:56:00 UTC (2023-03-16) · approx. 12:56 PM UTC-12 local
Felt by 6 people across nearby locations. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 4.4 (moderate).
On March 16, 2023 at 00:56 UTC, a magnitude 7.0 shallow crustal earthquake struck in the Kermadec Islands region, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates -30.1741°, -176.2047°. The earthquake was reported felt by 6 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 4.4 (moderate). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 324 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 759, making it a moderate-impact event.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 477 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 41 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
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 6 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Earthquake Details
-176.2047°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in the Kermadec Islands region?
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck in the Kermadec Islands region on March 16, 2023 at 00:56 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. It was felt by 6 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 4.4 (moderate). For context, this was a strong earthquake capable of causing significant damage.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at -30.1741°, -176.2047°, which is in the Kermadec Islands region.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 7.0 earthquakes can continue for months to years and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000jkbd). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, March 16, 2023). M7.0 Earthquake in the Kermadec Islands region — March 16, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2024 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000jkbd/