Aotearoa Summary. 13 July 2026 - 10 August 2026
Multiple Mag 5 quakes during the period but still no Mag 6 in New Zealand since the 14 November 2016 Kaikoura 7.8 Supermoon quake. The familiar and slightly ominous double quake sequence at either end of the country appeared twice during the period on 16 July and 5 August. The 16 July 8.57pm Offshore East Cape 5.0 came just 17 minutes ahead of the 9.14pm Fiordland 5.9. The 5 August Auckland Island 5.2 came 59 minutes ahead of the South of Kermadecs 6.3. The South of Kermadecs 6.3 was 220km deep so more quakes are possible as piezoelectric energy moves upward with the next spaceweather period. Bay of Plenty, East Coast North Island, Fiordland are Mag 5 risk locations when new spaceweather arrives on 12 August. Globally quakes have been very moderate during the period. The Kyushu 6.8 made big news with collapsed buildings and dozens killed. The only other Mag 6 was an ongoing sequence in the ever active Molucca Sea. Kermadec Islands have been very active during the period with the 30 July Raoul Island 5.9 and many other Mag 5 quakes. The period seems to be more volcanic with eruptions at Etna, Fuego making news and today Krakatau and Semeru in Indonesia. Local seismologists report an increase in volcanic tremor at Ruapehu and minor quakes but no heating at the crater lake. Ruapehu has erupted from a cold crater lake so a minor steam eruption is possible. Sadly volcanic tremor is no longer measured at White Island and their SSAM instrument at Mayor Island isn't working just now so data is very limited and its hard to know what is going on at the Kermadec Ridge. Quake data is taken from United States Geological Survey. Offshore Geonet data is inaccurate in magnitude and location due to the configuration of their seismometer array. Aotearoa Earthquake and Volcano Forecast Service © 2013 - 2026 |
