Reviewed by USGSVanuatu69y ago
M7.8 earthquake 186 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu
Tuesday, December 17, 1957, 13:50:22 UTC · 12.418°S, 166.684°E
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck 186 km NNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Tuesday, December 17, 1957, 13:50:22 UTC, at a depth of 123.6 km (intermediate). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.8
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 124 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
7.6 megatons of TNT
That is about 502 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 15,849 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
92 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: intermediate
124 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.2 on January 15, 1958. 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 87 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 73 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.454 km ESE of Lata, Solomon IslandsMay 17, 1941 · 181 km N of this epicenter
- 7.344 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuJanuary 5, 1915 · 215 km S of this epicenter
- 7.379 km WSW of Sola, VanuatuAugust 6, 1912 · 183 km S of this epicenter
- 7.345 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 21, 1934 · 166 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.256 km N of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 26, 1910 · 239 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1130 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsNovember 16, 1944 · 83 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1146 km NW of Sola, VanuatuNovember 4, 1953 · 78 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 177 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1934M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
18 Jul 1934 · 57 km away
tsunami
- 1957M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
17 Dec 1957 · 13 km away
- 1953M7.5
Solomon Islands
4 Nov 1953 · 88 km away
tsunami
- 1934M7.1
Solomon Islands; New Caledonia
21 Jul 1934 · 192 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.