Strong and shallow M6.3 earthquake hits near South Island, New Zealand
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.3 hit near the southern coast of South Island, New Zealand at 12:53 UTC on July 7, 2025. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). GeoNet is reporting M6.1 at a depth of 12 km (7.5 miles).
Epicenter of M6.3 earthquake near the coast of South Island, New Zealand on July 77, 2025. Credit: TW/SAM, Google
The epicenter was located 208 km (129 miles) WSW of Riverton (population 1 660), 228 km (142 miles) WSW of Invercargill (population 57 000), and 284 km (176 miles) WSW of Gore (population 13 050), Southland, New Zealand.
5 000 people are estimated to have felt light shaking and 14 000 light.
There is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.
The USGS issued a Green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly resistant to earthquake shaking, though some vulnerable structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are reinforced masonry and unreinforced brick with timber floor construction.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
References:
1 M6.3 earthquake New Zealand – USGS – July 7, 2025
2 M6.3 earthquake New Zealand – GeoNet – July 7, 2025
3 M6.3 earthquake New Zealand – EMSC – July 7, 2025
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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