Two earthquakes strike near Milford Sound

Wednesday 2 September 2026 · 6 outlets · 5 reports · updated Wed 2 Sep, 7:55pm

In this story GeoNet

Two shallow earthquakes occurred north-east of Milford Sound on Wednesday evening. The first magnitude 5.5 quake struck at 6.13pm, followed by a second tremor less than an hour later. Thousands of people across the lower South Island reported feeling the shaking.

How they headlined it

6:28pm7:09pm7:55pm

1. 1NewsWed 2 Sep, 6:28pm

   Two quakes rattle Milford Sound, felt around the south (opens in new tab)

   • Magnitude 5.5 quake rattles Milford Sound, felt around the south (opens in new tab) Wed 2 Sep, 6:28pm
2. StuffWed 2 Sep, 6:34pm

   Shallow magnitude 5.5 earthquake strikes Fiordland (opens in new tab)

3. NZ HeraldWed 2 Sep, 7:09pm

   Milford Sound earthquake: Two quakes rattle lower South Island (opens in new tab)

4. Waikato Times via The PressWed 2 Sep, 7:55pm

   Second quake hits Fiordland, rattles glasses ‘like crazy’ in Queenstown (opens in new tab)

   Also on The Press (opens in new tab), The Post (opens in new tab)