Moderate magnitude 4.6 earthquake 47 km southeast of Palmerston North, New Zealand

Just 21 minutes ago, a 4.6-magnitude earthquake struck near Palmerston North, Palmerston North City, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand. The tremor was recorded late at night on Tuesday, January 13th, 2026, at 11:21 pm local time, at a shallow depth of 13.10 km below the surface.
The event was filed by New Zealand's Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey (GeoNet), the first seismological agency to report it.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.5 earthquake.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc.
In Pongaroa (pop. 81) located 10 km from the epicenter, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.
Weak shaking might have been felt in Pahiatua (pop. 2,900) located 25 km from the epicenter, Dannevirke (pop. 5,700) 42 km away, Kelvin Grove (pop. 8,000) 46 km away, Palmerston North (pop. 91,300) 47 km away, Masterton (pop. 28,700) 56 km away, and Levin (pop. 19,800) 69 km away.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Paraparaumu (pop. 29,900) located 97 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.


Earthquake data:
Date & time: Jan 13, 2026 11:21 pm (Auckland time) local time (13 Jan 2026 10:21 GMT)
Magnitude: 4.6
Depth: 13.10 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 40.58°S / 176.08°E (Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand)
Primary data source: GEONET (NZ)
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/291835/Moderate-magnitude-46-earthquake-47-km-southeast-of-Palmerston-North-New-Zealand.html