Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands55y ago
M7.4 earthquake 96 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands
Monday, February 14, 1972, 23:29:53 UTC · 11.421°S, 166.334°E
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 96 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands on Monday, February 14, 1972, 23:29:53 UTC, at a depth of 102.6 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on December 31, 1966.
- Magnitude
- 7.4
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 103 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
1.9 megatons of TNT
That is about 126 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3,981 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
20 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the African and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
103 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on February 16, 1972. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 191 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8146 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsDecember 31, 1966 · 52 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 117 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 45 km S of this epicenter
- 7.428 km NW of Lata, Solomon IslandsSeptember 15, 1963 · 125 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.454 km ESE of Lata, Solomon IslandsMay 17, 1941 · 65 km N of this epicenter
- 7.379 km WSW of Sola, VanuatuAugust 6, 1912 · 298 km S of this epicenter
- 7.345 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 21, 1934 · 54 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 287 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1934M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
18 Jul 1934 · 69 km away
tsunami
- 1957M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
17 Dec 1957 · 106 km away
- 1966M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
31 Dec 1966 · 54 km away
tsunami
- 1909M7.7
Solomon Islands
9 Dec 1909 · 215 km away
- 1900M7.6
Santa Cruz Islands
29 Jul 1900 · 215 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.