September 21, 1897 Earthquake: Wellington, New Zealand
An earthquake struck Wellington, New Zealand on September 21, 1897 at 07:14 UTC. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- September 21, 1897
- Time
- 07:14 UTC
- Place
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Country
- New Zealand
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #2713:
1897, September 21. Time: 0714. Epicentere - near Wellington. Reliability Index - 0.25.
It seems that this earthquake had a smaller magnitude
than the magnitude 7 earthquake which occurred on 8
December later that year. At a meeting of the Wellington
Philosophical Society (Anon. 1898) it was mentioned that:
" ... on the evening of the earthquake - the 21st September
- a party from Government House, returning
from an excursion on the harbour, had observed an unusual
wave in the sea like a tidal wave." The Evening Post
noted that a number of exaggerated rumours of the effects
of this earthquake were circulating in Wellington. It makes
no mention of unusual waves.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1897The 1800sThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 10053.