October 5, 1980 Earthquake: Gisborne, Hawera, Eastbourne, Napier, New Zealand
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Gisborne, Hawera, Eastbourne, Napier, New Zealand on October 5, 1980 at 15:32:49 UTC, 32 km below the surface.
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
- October 5, 1980
- Time
- 15:32:49 UTC
- Place
- Gisborne, Hawera, Eastbourne, Napier, New Zealand
- Magnitude
- 5.6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 32 km (20 mi)
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 39.542° S, 176.478° E
- Country
- New Zealand
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
- February 2, 1931, Hawke Bay, New Zealand
- December 20, 2007, Off Coast North Island, New Zealand
- July 18, 2004, Rotorua, Tauranga, North Island, New Zealand
- March 2, 1987, North Island, Whakatani, Edgecumbe, New Zealand
- February 21, 1973, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
- August 25, 2008, North Island, New Zealand
- February 13, 1931, Northern New Zealand
- February 19, 1931, Northern New Zealand
- May 13, 1990, Dannevirke, Wellington, New Zealand
- August 18, 1895, Taupo, New Zealand
- November 30, 2022, Taupo, New Zealand
- March 2, 1956, North Island, New Zealand
- September 6, 2010, Porangahau, North Island, New Zealand
- February 11, 1855, New Zealand
- September 15, 1932, Gisborne, Wairoa, New Zealand
More
Significant earthquakes of 1980The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1980Recent 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 4895.