34 km SE of Witherlea, New Zealand
Geographic Context
This earthquake event occurred in New Zealand, located along the Pacific-Australian plate boundary.
Event Assessment
This event is an earthquake of magnitude 4.4 at 21 km depth. Calamity.live has classified it as "low" severity with a severity value of 26.400000000000002. The computed Calamity Score is 4 out of 100, suggesting contained impact at this time. The primary scoring components are: intensity (8), historical (4). Data for this event was sourced from usgs, one of the 250 scientific monitoring sources aggregated by Calamity.live.
Regional Monitoring Context
New Zealand has a documented history of earthquake events. Seismic monitoring in the region draws on data from multiple agencies including USGS, EMSC, and regional networks. Understanding local seismicity helps emergency management agencies plan for potential future events and assess building code adequacy. Earthquake hazard in any region depends on fault proximity, soil conditions, and building vulnerability — factors that can vary significantly even within a single metropolitan area.
Event Data
| Type | Earthquake |
| Severity | low |
| Severity Value | 26.400000000000002 |
| Calamity Score | 4 / 100 |
| Confidence | 67% |
| Coordinates | -41.7640, 174.2287 |
| Timestamp | 2026-05-16T06:34:13.991Z |
| Source | https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000sy5t |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Mag | 4.4 |
| Depth | 20.623 |
| Tsunami | false |
| Felt | 1 |
| Sig | 298 |
| Emsc Mag | 4.4 |
| Emsc Depth | -20.6 |
| Emsc MagType | m |
| Emsc Region | COOK STRAIT, NEW ZEALAND |
| Emsc Auth | NEIC |
| Emsc SourceId | 1995636 |
| MergedSources | [{"id":"emsc_20260516_0000071","source":"emsc","severity":"low","severityValue":26.400000000000002,"timestamp":1778913253991,"latitude":-41.764,"longitude":174.2287}] |
Safety Information
If you feel shaking: Drop, Cover, and Hold On. Move away from windows, heavy objects, and exterior walls. After shaking stops, check for injuries and structural damage. Be prepared for aftershocks, which can occur minutes to months after the mainshock. Follow instructions from local emergency management authorities.
This data is aggregated algorithmically from scientific sources. Not a replacement for official emergency warnings.
Calamity.live data shows a earthquake event with CalamityScore 4/100 (New Zealand), based on data from usgs. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 207 scientific monitoring sources.