M5.0 earthquake - off the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand

What happened

A magnitude 5 earthquake struck off the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand on 5 Mar 2021, 15:42 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 Gisborne, about 195 km away in Gisborne, New Zealand.