M5.3 earthquake near Karori, Wellington Region

What happened

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 47 km SSW of Brooklyn, New Zealand on 29 Dec 2016, 02:34 UTC at a depth of 18 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Karori, about 49 km away in Wellington Region, New Zealand.