Reviewed by USGSVanuatu60y ago
M6.9 earthquake 261 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu
Friday, October 7, 1966, 15:55:10 UTC · 21.558°S, 170.596°E
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 261 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu on Friday, October 7, 1966, 15:55:10 UTC, at a depth of 150.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on January 20, 1964.
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 150 km
- Intermediate
- 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
338 kilotons of TNT
That is about 22 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 708 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
117 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: intermediate
150 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 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 151 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11920 Vanuatu EarthquakeSeptember 20, 1920 · 281 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 243 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 92 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 14, 1906 · 151 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.262 km NE of Isangel, VanuatuJuly 2, 1953 · 292 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsAugust 17, 1935 · 123 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsApril 14, 1906 · 111 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1875M8.1
Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island
28 Mar 1875 · 278 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 79 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 281 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 283 km away
- 1910M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
1 Jun 1910 · 240 km away
- 1928M7.5
Loyalty Islands
16 Mar 1928 · 50 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.