M 6.8 earthquake – Macquarie Island region
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Local time: Sep 3, 1987 · 20:01 (UTC+12)
StrongShallow · 33 km
Reviewed by a seismologist
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- Magnitude
- 6.8moment magnitude (mw)
- Depth
- 33 kmShallow earthquake
- Epicenter
- -59.538, 159.0051,587 km from Invercargill
- Energy released
- 239 kilotons of TNTabout 16 × Hiroshima
- Felt reports
- —"Did You Feel It?" responses
- Shaking intensity
- —not estimated
- Aftershocks
- 7M2.5+ within 56 km, up to 60 days
- Significance
- 711USGS score, 0–1,000+
Not rare around here
An earthquake at least as strong struck within 300 km on Sep 3, 1987.
How strong was it?
Strong earthquake. It released 239 kilotons of TNT, 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0. Bars use the magnitude scale: every step is about 32 times more energy.
Aftershocks
7 earthquakes of M2.5+ within 56 km in the 60 days after.
The strongest earthquakes within 300 km
Since 1900.
- 7.4 Macquarie Island region Sep 3, 1987
- 7.3 Macquarie Island region Jun 11, 1970
- 7.0 Macquarie Island region Jul 28, 2025
- 6.8 Balleny Islands region Mar 23, 1945
- 6.8 Macquarie Island region Mar 3, 2024
- 6.5 Macquarie Island region Nov 5, 1994
- 6.5 Macquarie Island region Oct 28, 1951
- 6.4 Macquarie Island region Oct 1, 1940