M5.4 earthquake - 80 km NW of Queenstown, New Zealand

What happened

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 80 km NW of Queenstown, New Zealand on 12 Aug 2019, 10:35 UTC at a depth of 10 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 Invercargill, about 209 km away in Southland, New Zealand.