December 3, 2011 Earthquake: Cook Strait, New Zealand
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Cook Strait, New Zealand on December 3, 2011 at 06:19:10 UTC, 56 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
- December 3, 2011
- Time
- 06:19:10 UTC
- Place
- Cook Strait, New Zealand
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (mb)
- Focal depth
- 56 km (35 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 41.364° S, 174.315° E
- Country
- New Zealand
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100)
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.
Felt (V) at Picton; (IV) at Blenheim, Lower Hutt, Porirua and Wellington; (III) at Nelson. Felt in the southern part
of the North Island and the northern part of the South
Island. (reference #1053)
A 5.3-magnitude earthquake struck under the strait separating New Zealand's major north and south islands Saturday night, causing minor damage in the capital Wellington. The quake struck at 7:19pm local time at a depth of 37.1 miles (59.1km) under the Cook Strait, 20 miles (32km) south-southwest of Wellington, the United States Geological Survey reported. New Zealand's GNS Science measured the earthquake as 5.7 on the Richter scale.
The tremor was felt strongly in Wellington and Marlborough on the north and south islands, respectively, stuff.co.nz reported. There were several reports of minor damage to buildings in Wellington, the website reported, adding that witnesses described the tremor as lasting around 20 seconds.
There were no reports of any casualties. (reference #9659)
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
- May 23, 1968, NW Coast, South Island, New Zealand
- November 13, 2016, Amberley, New Zealand
- October 15, 1848, Northern New Zealand
- July 21, 2013, Cook Strait, New Zealand
- August 16, 2013, Wellington, Marlborough, New Zealand
- January 23, 1855, Wellington,waiouru,wanganui,otaki, New Zealand
- January 20, 2005, North Island, New Zealand
- March 5, 1934, North Island, New Zealand
- September 8, 1991, Wellington, Wanganui, New Zealand
- January 20, 2014, Wellington, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand
- October 18, 1868, Tasman Sea, New Zealand
- July 5, 1845, N. New Zealand
- July 8, 1843, Wanganui, New Zealand
More
Significant earthquakes of 2011The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2011Recent 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 9854.