Get here the list of big earthquakes that happened in New Zealand that had a magnitude of 6.0 or more. The list doesn’t include smaller aftershocks unless they caused a lot of damage or deaths. New Zealand gets lots of earthquakes because it’s located where two big plates of the Earth’s crust meet. Most earthquakes happen in the mountains that run from Fiordland to East Cape. Big earthquakes are less common in the central Alpine Fault.
Wellington is the biggest city at the highest risk of earthquakes in New Zealand. Napier and Hastings are also high-risk cities. The country experiences many earthquakes each year, with some being strong enough to feel. Because of this, New Zealand has strict building rules. Earthquakes have caused damage to buildings in the past, so people learned to use better building methods. New regulations were put in place to make sure buildings were designed to withstand earthquakes.
List of Earthquakes in New Zealand
| 1 | 4 January 1903 | Alpine Fault | South Island | 7.6–8.3 | – |
| 2 | 30 December 1903 | Wellington Region | Wellington | 8 | 25 km |
| 3 | 1610–20 | Alpine Fault | South Island | 7.6–8.3 | |
| 4 | 12 September 1904 | Alpine Fault | South Island | 8.1 | |
| 5 | 19 December 1904 | New Plymouth | Taranaki | 7 | 25 km |
| 6 | 21 December 1904 | Fiordland | South Island | 7 | 25 km |
| 7 | 30 December 1904 | Fiordland | South Island | 8 | 25 km |
| 8 | 8 January 1905 | South Auckland | Auckland | 7 | 25 km |
| 9 | 11 January 1905 | Waitotara Forest | Manawatu | 7 | 25 km |
| 10 | 26 May 1840 | Paraparaumu | Wellington | 6 | 25 km |
| 11 | 8 July 1843 | Near Taihape | Manawatu | 7.6 | 12 km |
| 12 | 13 July 1846 | Snares Islands | Southland | 6.3 | 25 km |
| 13 | 19 November 1846 | Karamea | West Coast | 6.5 | 25 km |
| 14 | 4 December 1846 | Wellington | Wellington | 6 | 25 km |
| 15 | 16 October 1848 | Blenheim | Marlborough | 7.4 | 12 km |
| 16 | 27 July 1851 | Motueka | Tasman | 6 | 25 km |
| 17 | 23 January 1855 | Lake Wairarapa | Wairarapa | 8.2 | 33 km |
| 18 | 23 February 1863 | Waipukurau | Hawke’s Bay | 7.5 | 25 km |
| 19 | 19 October 1868 | Cape Farewell | Tasman | 7.2 | 12 km |
| 20 | 5 June 1869 | Christchurch | Canterbury | 4.7–5.7 | 5 km |
| 21 | 26 February 1876 | Oamaru | Otago | 5.8 | 12 km |
| 22 | 18 July 1876 | Palmerston North | Manawatu | 6.8 | 50 km |
| 23 | 25 June 1881 | Palmerston North | Manawatu | 6.7 | 33 km |
| 24 | 5 December 1881 | Castle Hill[37] | Canterbury | 6 | 12 km |
| 25 | 1 September 1888 | Lewis Pass | Canterbury | 7 | 12 km |
| 26 | 23 June 1891 | W of Port Waikato | Waikato | 6.2 | 12 km |
| 27 | 12 February 1893 | Nelson | Tasman Bay | 6.7 | 70 km |
| 28 | 18 August 1895 | Taupo | Bay of Plenty | 6 | 12 km |
| 29 | 8 December 1897 | Wanganui | Manawatu | 6.5 | 40 km |
| 30 | 16 November 1901 | Cheviot | North Canterbury | 6.8 | 12 km |
| 31 | 9 August 1904 | Cape Turnagain | Hawke’s Bay | 7 | 16 km |
| 32 | 12 April 1913 | Masterton | Wairarapa | 5.6 | 12 km |
| 33 | 7 October 1914 | East Cape | Gisborne | 6.6 | 12 km |
| 34 | 22 November 1914 | Mayor Island | Bay of Plenty | 7.3 | 300 km |
| 35 | 1 May 1917 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 8 | 50 km |
| 36 | 6 August 1917 | Tinui | Wairarapa | 6.8 | 12 km |
| 37 | 3 November 1918 | Puysegur Trench | South of New Zealand | 6.8 | 50 km |
| 38 | 29 June 1921 | Kaweka Forest | Hawke’s Bay | 7 | 80 km |
| 39 | 25 December 1922 | Motunau | North Canterbury | 6.4 | 20 km |
| 40 | 17 October 1926 | Ahimanawa Range | Hawke’s Bay | 6 | 80 km |
| 41 | 9 March 1929 | Arthur’s Pass | Canterbury | 7 | 11 km |
| 42 | 17 June 1929 | Murchison | West Coast | 7.3 | 9 km |
| 43 | 23 June 1929 | Murchison | West Coast | 6.5 | 14 km |
| 44 | 12 February 1930 | Porangahau | Hawke’s Bay | 6.2 | 33 km |
| 45 | 3 February 1931 | North of Napier | Hawke’s Bay | 7.4 | 20 km |
| 46 | 13 February 1931 | East of Napier | Hawke’s Bay | 7.3 | 16 km |
| 47 | 7 May 1931 | Gisborne | Gisborne | 6 | 12 km |
| 48 | 22 September 1931 | Raukumara Range | Bay of Plenty | 6 | 80 km |
| 49 | 5 March 1932 | White Island | Bay of Plenty | 6 | 30 km |
| 50 | 16 September 1932 | Wairoa | Hawke’s Bay | 6.9 | 8 km |
| 51 | 5 March 1934 | Pahiatua | Manawatu | 7.2 | 12 km |
| 52 | 15 March 1934 | Wairoa | Hawke’s Bay | 6.3 | 25 km |
| 53 | 24 May 1936 | Whakatane | Bay of Plenty | 6.5 | 150 km |
| 54 | 17 December 1938 | Charles Sound | Southland | 7 | 47 km |
| 55 | 11 February 1939 | Fiordland | Southland | 7 | 25 km |
| 56 | 26 February 1940 | Hastings | Hawke’s Bay | 6 | 25 km |
| 57 | 24 June 1942 | Masterton | Wairarapa | 6.9 | 12 km |
| 58 | 1 August 1942 | Masterton | Wairarapa | 6.8 | 40 km |
| 59 | 2 December 1942 | Masteron | Wairarapa | 6 | 20 km |
| 60 | 17 February 1943 | Te Anau | Southland | 6.2 | 36 km |
| 61 | 8 May 1943 | Wanaka | Otago | 5.9 | 50 km |
| 62 | 2 August 1943 | Te Anau | Southland | 6.1 | 33 km |
| 63 | 2 September 1945 | Puysegur Bank | Southland | 6.5 | 12 km |
| 64 | 27 June 1946 | Lake Coleridge | Canterbury | 6.5 | 9 km |
| 65 | 26 March 1947 | Offshore Poverty Bay | Gisborne | 5.9 | 15 km |
| 66 | 17 May 1947 | Offshore Tolaga Bay | Gisborne | 5.6 | 15 km |
| 67 | 28 August 1947 | Offshore Mahia Peninsula | Gisborne | 6.3 | 7 km |
| 68 | 13 October 1947 | Jackson Bay | West Coast | 6.2 | 18 km |
| 69 | 23 May 1948 | Waiau | North Canterbury | 6.4 | 4 km |
| 70 | 9 February 1949 | Hawera | Taranaki | 6.4 | 199 km |
| 71 | 11 January 1951 | Cheviot | North Canterbury | 5.5 | 12 km |
| 72 | 10 February 1951 | Porangahau | Hawke’s Bay | 6.1 | 33 km |
| 73 | 28 March 1951 | White Island | Bay of Plenty | 6.4 | 394 km |
| 74 | 23 April 1951 | Cape Runaway | Bay of Plenty | 6.2 | 80 km |
| 75 | 24 June 1951 | Toaroa Junction | Manawatu | 6.3 | 33 km |
| 76 | 28 August 1952 | Porangahau | Hawke’s Bay | 5.8 | 12 km |
| 77 | 29 September 1953 | Tauranga | Bay of Plenty | 7.2 | 273 km |
| 78 | 27 February 1955 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 7.8 | 18 km |
| 79 | 30 January 1956 | White Island | Bay of Plenty | 5.9 | 12 km |
| 80 | 29 December 1956 | Matawai | Gisborne | 6.3 | 33 km |
| 81 | 31 January 1958 | Ashley Clinton | Hawke’s Bay | 6.1 | 12 km |
| 82 | 10 December 1958 | Mayor Island | Bay of Plenty | 6.1 | 285 km |
| 83 | 14 September 1959 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 7.8 | 35 km |
| 84 | 28 March 1960 | Mokau | Taranaki | 6.6 | 237 km |
| 85 | 28 March 1960 | Mokau | Taranaki | 6.5 | 209 km |
| 86 | 25 May 1960 | Milford Sound | Southland | 6.3 | 12 km |
| 87 | 4 February 1961 | Tauranga | Bay of Plenty | 6 | 309 km |
| 88 | 27 December 1961 | Martinborough | Wellington | 6.2 | 12 km |
| 89 | 10 May 1962 | Westport | West Coast | 5.6 | 7 km |
| 90 | 23 December 1962 | Peria | Northland | 4.8 | 12 km |
| 91 | 18 December 1963 | Raoul Islands | Kermadec Islands | 7.7 | 35 km |
| 92 | 11 April 1965 | Kaikoura | North Canterbury | 6.1 | 12 km |
| 93 | 21 May 1965 | George Sound | Southland | 6.4 | 101 km |
| 94 | 9 December 1965 | Cape Runaway | Bay of Plenty | 6.5 | 190 km |
| 95 | 4 March 1966 | Gisborne | East Cape | 6 | 33 km |
| 96 | 23 April 1966 | Cook Strait | Marlborough | 5.8 | 12 km |
| 97 | 24 May 1968 | Inangahua Junction | West Coast | 6.7 | 12 km |
| 98 | 25 September 1968 | Solander Trough | Southland | 5.9 | 12 km |
| 99 | 9 January 1972 | Te Aroha | Waikato | 5.3 | 12 km |
| 100 | 5 January 1973 | Taumarunui | King Country | 7 | 163 km |
| 101 | 9 April 1974 | Dunedin | Otago | 4.9 | 12 km |
| 102 | 5 November 1974 | Opunake | Taranaki | 6 | 12 km |
| 103 | 5 May 1976 | Milford Sound | Southland | 6.6 | 12 km |
| 104 | 15 January 1976 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 7.8 | 43 km |
| 105 | 15 January 1976 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 8.2 | 31 km |
| 106 | 28 October 1976 | Te Puke | Bay of Plenty | 4.9 | 12 km |
| 107 | 18 January 1977 | Cook Strait | Marlborough | 6 | 33 km |
| 108 | 12 October 1979 | Puysegur Trench | South of New Zealand | 6.5 | 12 km |
| 109 | 8 March 1984 | Matawai | Bay of Plenty | 6.4 | 75 km |
| 110 | 25 June 1984 | Macauley River | Canterbury | 5.9 | 12 km |
| 111 | 31 December 1984 | White Island | Bay of Plenty | 6.3 | 12 km |
| 112 | 26 September 1985 | Kermadec Trench | Kermadec Islands | 7 | 33 km |
| 113 | 21 October 1986 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 7.7 | 29 km |
| 114 | 2 March 1987 | Edgecumbe | Bay of Plenty | 6.1 | 10 km |
| 115 | 9 March 1987 | Pegasus Bay | Canterbury | 5.2 | 30 km |
| 116 | 4 June 1988 | Te Anau | Southland | 6.1 | 73 km |
| 117 | 24 May 1989 | Puysegur Trench | South of New Zealand | 8.2 | |
| 118 | 31 May 1989 | Doubtful Sound | Southland | 6.1 | 23 km |
| 119 | 10 February 1990 | Lake Tennyson | North Canterbury | 5.8 | 8 km |
| 120 | 19 February 1990 | Weber | Manawatu | 5.9 | 23 km |
| 121 | 13 May 1990 | Weber | Manawatu | 6.2 | 11 km |
| 122 | 28 January 1991 | Buller Ranges | West Coast | 6.1 | 10 km |
| 123 | 29 January 1991 | Buller Ranges | West Coast | 6.3 | 17.3 km |
| 124 | 9 September 1991 | South Taranaki Bight | Manawatu | 6.3 | 86 km |
| 125 | 27 May 1992 | Wairau Valley | Marlborough | 6.8 | 79 km |
| 126 | 21 June 1992 | White Island | Bay of Plenty | 6.1 | 5 km |
| 127 | 11 April 1993 | Tikokino | Hawke’s Bay | 6.1 | 25 km |
| 128 | 10 August 1993 | Secretary Island | Southland | 6.7 | 22 km |
| 129 | 10 August 1993 | Ormond | East Cape | 6.3 | 39 km |
| 130 | 18 June 1994 | Arthur’s Pass | Canterbury | 6.7 | 4 km |
| 131 | 19 June 1994 | Lake Coleridge | Canterbury | 6.1 | 5 km |
| 132 | 6 February 1995 | Offshore East Cape | Gisborne | 7 | 15 km |
| 133 | 10 February 1995 | NE of New Zealand | East Cape | 6.6 | 12 km |
| 134 | 24 November 1995 | Arthur’s Pass | Canterbury | 6.3 | 7 km |
| 135 | 25 May 1997 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 7.9 | 339 km |
| 136 | 20 April 1998 | Taumarunui | King Country | 6.7 | 232 km |
| 137 | 25 October 1999 | Taupo | Waikato | 7 | 160 km |
| 138 | 15 August 2000 | L’Esperance Rock | Kermadec Islands | 7.6 | 436 km |
| 139 | 1 November 2000 | Fiordland | Southland | 6.2 | 9 km |
| 140 | 21 August 2001 | NE of New Zealand | East Cape | 7.1 | 33 km |
| 141 | 21 October 2001 | NE of New Zealand | East Cape | 6.3 | 12 km |
| 142 | 8 December 2001 | Haast | West Coast | 6.2 | 5 km |
| 143 | 22 August 2003 | Fiordland | Southland | 7 | 24 km |
| 144 | 18 July 2004 | Lake Rotomā | Bay of Plenty | 5.1 | 5 km |
| 145 | 22 November 2004 | Puysegur Trench | South of New Zealand | 7.1 | 12 km |
| 146 | 24 December 2004 | Macquarie Ridge | South of New Zealand | 8.1 | 35 km |
| 147 | 14 March 2005 | W of New Zealand | Btw. Taranaki & Tasman | 6.4 | 154 km |
| 148 | 16 May 2006 | L’Esperance Rock | Kermadec Islands | 7.5 | 150 km |
| 149 | 16 May 2006 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 7.1 | 33 km |
| 150 | 16 October 2007 | Fiordland | Southland | 6.7 | 5 km |
| 151 | 9 December 2007 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 7.8 | 152 km |
| 152 | 20 December 2007 | Gisborne | East Cape | 6.7 | 44 km |
| 153 | 25 August 2008 | Hastings | Hawke’s Bay | 5.9 | 32 km |
| 154 | 15 July 2009 | Puysegur Trench | South of New Zealand | 6.1 | 33 km |
| 155 | 15 July 2009 | Dusky Sound | Southland | 7.8 | 12 km |
| 156 | 4 September 2010 | Darfield | Canterbury | 7.1 | 11 km |
| 157 | 22 February 2011 | Christchurch | Canterbury | 6.3 | 6 km |
| 158 | 13 June 2011 | Christchurch | Canterbury | 6.4 | 7 km |
| 159 | 5 July 2011 | Taupo | Waikato | 6.5 | 153 km |
| 160 | 7 July 2011 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 7.6 | 20 km |
| 161 | 22 October 2011 | Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 7.3 | 33 km |
| 162 | 23 December 2011 | Christchurch | Canterbury | 6 | 7 km |
| 163 | 21 July 2013 | Cook Strait | Marlborough | 6.5 | 17 km |
| 164 | 16 August 2013 | Lake Grassmere | Marlborough | 6.6 | 8 km |
| 165 | 16 August 2013 | Lake Grassmere | Marlborough | 6 | 8 km |
| 166 | 20 January 2014 | Eketahuna | Wairarapa | 6.2 | 34 km |
| 167 | 13 October 2014 | Fiordland | Southland | 6.2 | 9 km |
| 168 | 14 October 2014 | NE of Whakatane | Bay of Plenty | 6.5 | 82 km |
| 169 | 17 November 2014 | NE of Gisborne | Gisborne | 6.5 | 22 km |
| 170 | 6 January 2015 | W of Arthur’s Pass | Canterbury | 6 | 5 km |
| 171 | 24 April 2015 | SE of St Arnaud | Marlborough | 6.2 | 52 km |
| 172 | 4 May 2015 | W of Wanaka | Otago | 6.2 | 4 km |
| 173 | 2 February 2016 | E of Macauley Island | Kermadec Islands | 6.6 | 366 km |
| 174 | 14 February 2016 | Christchurch | Canterbury | 5.7 | 15 km |
| 175 | 2 September 2016 | NE of East Cape | East Cape | 7.1 | 55 km |
| 176 | 14 November 2016 | Culverden | North Canterbury | 7.8 | 15 km |
| 177 | 30 October 2018 | SW of Taumarunui | Manawatū-Whanganui | 6.5 | 207 km |
| 178 | 19 June 2020 | SE of L’Esperance Rock | Kermadec Islands | 7.4 | 10 km |
| 179 | 5 March 2021 | East of East Cape | Gisborne | 7 | 90 km |
| 180 | 5 March 2021 | S of Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 7.4 | 56 km |
| 181 | 5 March 2021 | S of Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 8.1 | 19 km |
| 182 | 6 March 2021 | NE of Gisborne | Gisborne | 6.3 | 9 km |
| 183 | 20 June 2021 | S of Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 6.5 | 25 km |
| 184 | 2 March 2022 | S of Raoul Island | Kermadec Islands | 6.6 | 24 km |
| 185 | 15 February 2023 | NW of Paraparaumu | Kapiti Coast | 6.1 | 48 km |
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Source: Wikipedia
