M5.3 earthquake near Blenheim, Marlborough

What happened

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 29 km SE of Blenheim, New Zealand on 4 Dec 2016, 03:15 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 Blenheim, about 30 km away in Marlborough, New Zealand.