Small magnitude 3.3 quake hits 20 km southwest of Whakatane, New Zealand around noon

An earthquake of magnitude 3.3 occurred only 10 minutes ago 20 km southwest of Whakatane, New Zealand, New Zealand's Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey (GeoNet) reported.
The quake hit at a very shallow depth of 5. km beneath the epicenter near Whakatane, Whakatane District, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, around noon on Sunday, January 11th, 2026, at 1:01 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 3.3 earthquake as well.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Te Teko (pop. 440) located 4 km from the epicenter, Edgecumbe (pop. 1,900) 6 km away, Awakeri (pop. 2,300) 11 km away, and Kawerau (pop. 7,700) 12 km away.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Whakatane (pop. 18,600) located 20 km from the epicenter, and Ohope Beach (pop. 3,300) 27 km away. In Te Puke (pop. 10,500, 46 km away), Rotorua (pop. 65,900, 48 km away), and Tauranga (pop. 155,200, 64 km away), the quake was probably not felt.

Earthquake data:
Date & time: Jan 11, 2026 01:01 pm (GMT +13) local time (11 Jan 2026 00:01 GMT)
Magnitude: 3.3
Depth: 5.00 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 38.01°S / 176.77°E (Whakatane District, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand)
Primary data source: GEONET (NZ)
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/291661/Small-magnitude-33-quake-hits-20-km-southwest-of-Whakatane-New-Zealand-around-noon-.html