August 21, 2003 Earthquake: Dunedin,invercargill,te Anau,fiordland, New Zealand
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Dunedin,invercargill,te Anau,fiordland, New Zealand on August 21, 2003 at 12:12:49 UTC, 28 km below the surface. 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
- August 21, 2003
- Time
- 12:12:49 UTC
- Place
- Dunedin,invercargill,te Anau,fiordland, New Zealand
- Magnitude
- 7.2 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 28 km (17 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 45.104° S, 167.144° E
- Country
- New Zealand
The toll
- Injuries
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Minor damage in Otago and Southland. Chimneys fell and walls cracked at Dunedin, Invercargill and Te Anau. More than 200 landslides were observed and minor damage occurred to park infrastructure in Fiordland National Park. A small tsunami with a maximum wave height (peak-to-trough) of 30 cm was recorded at Jackson Bay in Westland. A seiche of 15 cm was observed at Port Kembla, Australia. Felt strongly on much of the South Island. Felt as far north as Wellington on the North Island. Also felt at Sydney, New South Wales and Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. (above from Reference #1053)
Fortunately, because of the remote location, the earthquake resulted in few injuries and relatively minor damage to property. (reference #3808)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 2003The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2003Recent 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 5719.