Live earthquake check
Earthquakes near Palmerston North today
Updated
No M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km of Palmerston North in the last 24 hours The last M2.5+ within 100 km was M4.2 80 km ESE, 6 days ago.
Was there an earthquake in Palmerston North just now? This page checks the live USGS catalogue for quakes around Palmerston North, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand and updates every few minutes.
- Last 24 hours
- 0 M2.5+ within 100 km
- Last 7 days
- 1 M2.5+ within 100 km
- Last 30 days
- 3 M2.5+ within 100 km
- Largest in 30 days
- M4.2 80 km ESE, Oct 19, 2026
- Largest in past year
- M5.0 101 km WNW, Jan 8, 2026
- Past year count
- 30 M2.5+ within 150 km
- Nearest in 30 days
- 24 km M4.0, Sep 27, 2026
Recent earthquakes near Palmerston North
USGS recorded 3 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more within 100 km of Palmerston North in the past 30 days, 1 of them in the last 7 days. The most recent was M4.2 80 km ESE of the city at Oct 20, 06:27 local time (6 days ago).
The average depth was about 35 km and 3 of 3 were shallow (under 70 km), which are the ones most likely to be felt at the surface.
| Time (Palmerston North) | UTC | Magnitude | Distance | Depth | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 20, 06:27 | Oct 19, 17:27 UTC | M4.2 | 80 km ESE | 24 km | 38 km NE of Castlepoint, New Zealand |
| Oct 12, 19:52 | Oct 12, 06:52 UTC | M4.2 | 43 km SE | 32 km | 25 km SSE of Pahiatua, New Zealand |
| Sep 27, 23:32 | Sep 27, 10:32 UTC | M4.0 | 24 km E | 49 km | 5 km NNE of Mangatainoka, New Zealand |
M2.5+ within 150 km, past 30 days, newest first. Times in Pacific/Auckland.
Largest earthquakes near Palmerston North in the past year
The strongest earthquake within 150 km of Palmerston North in the past 12 months was M5.0 on Jan 8, 2026, 101 km WNW of the city (16 km SE of Patea, New Zealand).
With 30 M2.5+ earthquakes in a year (about 2.5 a month), the area around Palmerston North is active by global standards. 9 of the ten largest reached M4.5, the level at which damage near the epicentre becomes possible.
| Date | Magnitude | Distance | Depth | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 8, 2026 | M5.0 | 101 km WNW | 123 km | 16 km SE of Patea, New Zealand |
| Sep 4, 2026 | M4.6 | 83 km WSW | 49 km | 28 km NW of Raumati Beach, New Zealand |
| Jan 27, 2026 | M4.6 | 64 km WSW | 41 km | 30 km W of Foxton Beach, New Zealand |
| Sep 14, 2026 | M4.5 | 121 km W | 98 km | 64 km SSW of Patea, New Zealand |
| Jun 2, 2026 | M4.5 | 123 km SW | 68 km | 28 km W of Titahi Bay, New Zealand |
| Feb 16, 2026 | M4.5 | 98 km WSW | 77 km | 43 km WNW of Raumati Beach, New Zealand |
| Dec 25, 2025 | M4.5 | 56 km SE | 26 km | 25 km NNW of Castlepoint, New Zealand |
| Dec 3, 2025 | M4.5 | 54 km ESE | 20 km | 32 km ESE of Mangatainoka, New Zealand |
| Nov 6, 2025 | M4.5 | 135 km SW | 43 km | 12 km W of Karori, New Zealand |
| Jun 28, 2026 | M4.4 | 98 km W | 77 km | 65 km S of Patea, New Zealand |
Was it felt in Palmerston North?
The largest nearby quake this month, M4.2 at 80 km, may have been felt lightly in Palmerston North by a rough rule of thumb (an M3 is typically noticed within a few tens of km, an M5 up to a few hundred km; local ground and building type matter a lot).
USGS "Did You Feel It?" received reports for 1 of these quakes: M4.0 on Sep 27, 2026 (1 reports, max intensity 3.8).
If you felt shaking, you can report it to USGS; reports refine the intensity map within minutes.
Tsunami warning status
None of the earthquakes near Palmerston North in the past year carried the USGS tsunami flag, which USGS sets for large quakes in oceanic regions where the tsunami warning centres issue messages.
Official tsunami warnings come from the NOAA tsunami warning centres (tsunami.gov) and national agencies; follow local authorities if you are on a coast after strong shaking.
Earthquakes around the world today
Worldwide, USGS listed 142 earthquakes of M1+ in the last 24 hours; the largest was M6.5 Bonin Islands, Japan region.
USGS lists every magnitude in the United States but outside it coverage is complete only from about M4–4.5, so smaller local quakes reported by national agencies may be missing. Magnitudes and locations are revised for hours after an event.
Earthquakes near other cities in New Zealand and nearby
Earthquake pages
More live data for Palmerston North
Data: USGS Earthquake Hazards Program (ComCat), GeoNames (cities, CC BY 4.0).