Reviewed by USGSVanuatu120y ago
M7.1 earthquake 157 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu
Friday, October 11, 1907, 14:27:45 UTC · 16.149°S, 168.892°E
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 157 km E of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Friday, October 11, 1907, 14:27:45 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on February 19, 1905.
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 kilotons of TNT
That is about 45 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,413 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
225 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1903M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
13 May 1903 · 134 km away
- 1875M7.0
Vanuatu Islands
10 May 1875 · 278 km away
tsunami
- 1893M6.0
Vanuatu Islands
31 Jul 1893 · 189 km away
tsunami
- 1892
Espiritu Santo
Aug 1892 · 242 km away
tsunami
- 1905
Malo Pass
19 Mar 1905 · 191 km away
tsunami
- 1905
Port Vila
22 Nov 1905 · 184 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.