Reviewed by USGSVanuatu63y ago
M7.2 earthquake 54 km E of Luganville, Vanuatu
Thursday, July 9, 1964, 16:39:51 UTC · 15.534°S, 167.666°E
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 54 km E of Luganville, Vanuatu on Thursday, July 9, 1964, 16:39:51 UTC, at a depth of 130.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on January 5, 1915.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 130 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 earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
829 kilotons of TNT
That is about 55 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,738 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
149 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
130 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 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 128 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.447 km WSW of Norsup, VanuatuNovember 9, 1910 · 108 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3207 km E of Sola, VanuatuFebruary 19, 1905 · 248 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.344 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuJanuary 5, 1915 · 148 km N of this epicenter
- 7.379 km WSW of Sola, VanuatuAugust 6, 1912 · 187 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.397 km E of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 22, 1911 · 59 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.256 km N of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 26, 1910 · 129 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1157 km E of Lakatoro, VanuatuOctober 11, 1907 · 148 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.138 km ESE of Luganville, VanuatuJanuary 5, 1946 · 27 km SW 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 · 212 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 50 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1933M6.4
Malekula
19 Nov 1933 · 152 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1903M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
13 May 1903 · 167 km away
- 1910M7.9
Espiritu Santo
9 Nov 1910 · 186 km away
- 1953M7.5
Solomon Islands
4 Nov 1953 · 289 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.