May 23, 1968 Earthquake: NW Coast, South Island, New Zealand
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck NW Coast, South Island, New Zealand on May 23, 1968 at 17:24:00 UTC, 21 km below the surface. It killed 3 people.
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
- May 23, 1968
- Time
- 17:24:00 UTC
- Place
- NW Coast, South Island, New Zealand
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Focal depth
- 21 km (13 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 41.700° S, 172.000° E
- Country
- New Zealand
The toll
- Deaths
- 3
- Damage
- $3 million
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 16, 1929, South Island, New Zealand
- October 18, 1848, Awatere River, Marlborough, New Zealand
- November 13, 2016, Amberley, New Zealand
- February 22, 1913, Tasman Sea, New Zealand
- June 18, 1994, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand
- December 25, 1922, SE. New Zealand
- August 16, 2013, Wellington, Marlborough, New Zealand
- October 18, 1868, Tasman Sea, New Zealand
- July 21, 2013, Cook Strait, New Zealand
- December 3, 2011, Cook Strait, New Zealand
More
Significant earthquakes of 1968The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1968Recent earthquakes near hereThis 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 4440.