M5.1 earthquake near Paraparaumu, Wellington Region

What happened

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 49 km NW of Paraparaumu, New Zealand on 25 Jan 2020, 10:45 UTC at a depth of 86 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was an intermediate-depth earthquake, so shaking is spread over a wider, gentler area.

The nearest town in our records is Paraparaumu, about 50 km away in Wellington Region, New Zealand.