A very shallow magnitude 4.4 earthquake was reported in the morning near Taupo, Taupo District, Waikato, New Zealand.
According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the quake hit on Monday 26 April 2021 at 10:35 am local time at a very shallow depth of 6 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. 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.
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 Taupo (pop. 22,500) located 39 km from the epicenter, and Turangi (pop. 3,400) 44 km away.
Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Taradale (pop. 16,600) located 77 km from the epicenter, Hastings (pop. 61,700) 86 km away, Rotorua (pop. 65,900) 94 km away, and Rotorua (pop. 65,900) 94 km away.
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:
(Taupo District, Waikato, New Zealand)https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquake/news/128397/Magnitude-44-earthquake-strikes-near-Taupo-Taupo-District-Waikato-New-Zealand.html