On March 4, 2021, a powerful earthquake struck near the Kermadec Islands, New Zealand, triggering a tsunami that affected parts of New Zealand and the Pacific region.
A magnitude 8.1 earthquake near the Kermadec Islands in March 2021 was one of the largest seismic events recorded in the New Zealand region.
Key Facts
- Main shock magnitude
- 8.1 Mw
- Foreshock magnitude
- 7.4 Mw
- Main aftershock magnitude
- 6.1 Mw
- Aftershocks above M6
- More than a dozen
- Separate nearby quake
- 7.3, off North Island coast
- Time of main shock (UTC)
- 19:28:31, 4 March 2021
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Tectonic activity along the Kermadec subduction zone, one of the world's most seismically active regions, produced extreme stress release. A magnitude 7.4 foreshock preceded the main event, indicating a sequence of fault ruptures southeast of Raoul Island in New Zealand's outlying Kermadec Islands.
On 4 March 2021 at 19:28 UTC, a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck southeast of Raoul Island in the Kermadec Islands, making it one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in the New Zealand region. A separate, unrelated magnitude 7.3 earthquake also struck off the North Island several hours earlier, and more than a dozen aftershocks exceeded magnitude 6.
The earthquake sequence triggered a tsunami warning affecting New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. Coastal areas were placed on alert and evacuations were ordered in some regions. The series of large aftershocks continued to pose hazards, though the remote location of the epicentre limited direct infrastructure damage.