M5.1 earthquake - 252 km SW of Riverton, New Zealand

What happened

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 252 km SW of Riverton, New Zealand on 4 Aug 2019, 00:11 UTC at a depth of 17 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 268 km away in Southland, New Zealand.