Moderate magnitude 4.4 quake hits 86 km northwest of Queenstown, New Zealand in the afternoon
4.4 quake 9 Aug 5:29 pm (GMT +12)

An earthquake of magnitude 4.4 occurred in the afternoon on Tuesday, August 9th, 2022, at 5:29 pm local time near Queenstown, Queenstown-Lakes District, Otago, New Zealand, as reported by New Zealand's Earthquake Commission and Geological Survey (GeoNet).
According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a very shallow depth of 5 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.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake as well.
Towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Milford Sound (pop. 440) located 57 km from the epicenter, Wanaka (pop. 4,400) 76 km away, Arrowtown (pop. 2,200) 80 km away, Arthurs Point (pop. 1,300) 81 km away, Queenstown (pop. 10,400) 86 km away, and Cromwell (pop. 5,200) 106 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:
Date & time: Aug 9, 2022 5:29 pm (GMT +12) local time (9 Aug 2022 05:29 GMT)
Magnitude: 4.4
Depth: 5.0 km
Epicenterlatitude / longitude: 44.28°S / 168.39°E (Southland District, Southland, New Zealand)
Primary data source: GEONET (NZ)
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