February 5, 1995 Earthquake: Christchurch, North Island, S Island, New Zealand
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Christchurch, North Island, S Island, New Zealand on February 5, 1995 at 22:51:05 UTC, 21 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
- February 5, 1995
- Time
- 22:51:05 UTC
- Place
- Christchurch, North Island, S Island, New Zealand
- Magnitude
- 7.1 (Mw)
- Magnitude scales
- Mw 7.1 · Ms 7.5 · mb 6.5
- Focal depth
- 21 km (13 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.759° S, 178.752° E
- Country
- New Zealand
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Felt over much of the North Island and as far south as Christchurch on the South Island. Also felt on the Chatham Islands. Depth from broadband displacement seismograms. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-Waves NP1:Strike=210 Dip=62 Slip=-126 NP2:Strike=87 Dip=44 Slip=-42 Principal Axes: (T) Plg=10 Azm=325 (P) Plg=57 Azm=71 Comment: The focal mechanism is poorly controlled and corresponds to normal faulting with a large strike-slip component. The preferred fault plane is not determined. RADIATED ENERGY No. of sta: 9 Focal mech. F Energy 1.1+0.2*10**15 Nm MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION Dep 15 No. of sta: 33 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**19 Nm Mrr=-2.22 Mtt=2.02 Mff=0.20 Mrt=0.86 Mrf=1.61 Mtf=1.35 Principal axes: (T) Val=3.19 Plg=16 Azm=327 (N) Val=-0.16 Plg=19 Azm=231 (P) Val=-3.03 Plg=64 Azm=95 Best Double Couple:Mo=3.1*10**19 NP1:Strike=84 Dip=33 Slip=-53 NP2:Strike=222 Dip=64 Slip=-111 CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GSN L.P.B.: 79S,219C Centroid Location: Origin Time 22:51:13.3 0.1 Lat 37.61S 0.01 Lon 179.40E 0.01 Dep 15.0 FIX Half-duration 9.0 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**19 Nm Mrr=-4.77 0.04 Mtt=1.23 0.04 Mff=3.54 0.05 Mrt=1.49 0.11 Mrf=2.15 0.12 Mtf=3.09 0.04 Principal Axes: (T) Val=6.30 Plg=13 Azm=305 (N) Val=-0.91 Plg=0 Azm=215 (P) Val=-5.39 Plg=77 Azm=124 Best Double Couple:Mo=5.8*10**19 NP1:Strike=35 Dip=32 Slip=-90 NP2:Strike=215 Dip=58 Slip=-90
From the USGS event page for usp0006sef. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.1 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 7.12 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 7.1 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 7.09 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
| 7.2 | Mww, W-phase moment | Duputel, W-phase inversion | Preliminary |
| 7.2 | Mw, moment | USGS finite-fault model | Finite-fault model · Reviewed |
| 7.19 | Mw, moment | USGS finite-fault model | Finite-fault model · Reviewed |
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Felt over much of the North Island and as far south as Christchurch on the South Island. Also felt on the Chatham Islands. (reference #1053)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- October 6, 1914, North Island, New Zealand
- December 20, 2007, Off Coast North Island, New Zealand
- March 2, 1987, North Island, Whakatani, Edgecumbe, New Zealand
- July 18, 2004, Rotorua, Tauranga, North Island, New Zealand
- September 1, 2016, Gisborne, New Zealand
- March 4, 2021, Gisborne, New Zealand
- May 17, 1947, Off Coast North Island, New Zealand
- September 8, 1880, Gisborne, New Zealand
- March 25, 1947, Off Coast North Island, New Zealand
- 1831, Poverty Bay, North Island, New Zealand
- March 14, 1950, N. New Zealand
- September 15, 1932, Gisborne, Wairoa, New Zealand
- February 11, 1855, New Zealand
More
Significant earthquakes of 1995The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1995Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 5403. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp0006sef, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.