QuakeScout
Magnitude6.2

Reviewed by USGSVanuatu69y ago

M6.2 earthquake 106 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu

Wednesday, January 15, 1958, 22:15:54 UTC · 13.502°S, 166.641°E

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 106 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Wednesday, January 15, 1958, 22:15:54 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on December 17, 1957.

Magnitude
6.2
Strong · mw
Depth
35 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

32 kilotons of TNT

That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 68 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

24 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

35 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on January 16, 1958. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M5M61h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M6.2
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 5.797 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu69y ago · 22 km S of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 86 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 121 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 189 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.454 km ESE of Lata, Solomon IslandsMay 17, 1941 · 299 km N of this epicenter
  4. 7.344 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuJanuary 5, 1915 · 112 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.379 km WSW of Sola, VanuatuAugust 6, 1912 · 65 km S of this epicenter
  6. 7.397 km E of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 22, 1911 · 228 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.345 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 21, 1934 · 277 km N of this epicenter
  8. 7.256 km N of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 26, 1910 · 123 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1910M7.2

    Espiritu Santo

    10 Nov 1910 · 57 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1909

    Espiritu Santo

    8 Jul 1909 · 230 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1910M7.9

    Espiritu Santo

    9 Nov 1910 · 286 km away

  4. 1934M7.8

    Santa Cruz Islands

    18 Jul 1934 · 178 km away

    tsunami

  5. 1957M7.8

    Santa Cruz Islands

    17 Dec 1957 · 134 km away

  6. 1953M7.5

    Solomon Islands

    4 Nov 1953 · 37 km away

    tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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