Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands60y ago
M6.0 earthquake 62 km SSW of Lata, Solomon Islands
Monday, January 16, 1967, 14:26:28 UTC · 11.279°S, 165.665°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 62 km SSW of Lata, Solomon Islands on Monday, January 16, 1967, 14:26:28 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on January 3, 1967.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 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
18 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 38 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
42 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
25 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 134 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 · 110 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 168 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 101 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.428 km NW of Lata, Solomon IslandsSeptember 15, 1963 · 84 km N of this epicenter
- 7.454 km ESE of Lata, Solomon IslandsMay 17, 1941 · 83 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.345 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 21, 1934 · 39 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2199 km S of Lata, Solomon IslandsDecember 31, 1966 · 138 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1934M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
18 Jul 1934 · 135 km away
tsunami
- 1957M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
17 Dec 1957 · 160 km away
- 1966M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
31 Dec 1966 · 109 km away
tsunami
- 1909M7.7
Solomon Islands
9 Dec 1909 · 160 km away
- 1900M7.6
Santa Cruz Islands
29 Jul 1900 · 160 km away
- 1953M7.5
Solomon Islands
4 Nov 1953 · 232 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.