Reviewed by USGSVanuatu73y ago
M6.6 earthquake 146 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu
Friday, November 13, 1953, 19:15:44 UTC · 13.142°S, 166.429°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 146 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Friday, November 13, 1953, 19:15:44 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on November 4, 1953.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- 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
138 kilotons of TNT
That is about 9 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 288 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
46 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 75 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 · 147 km N of this epicenter
- 7.454 km ESE of Lata, Solomon IslandsMay 17, 1941 · 257 km N of this epicenter
- 7.344 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuJanuary 5, 1915 · 158 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.379 km WSW of Sola, VanuatuAugust 6, 1912 · 111 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.397 km E of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 22, 1911 · 274 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.345 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 21, 1934 · 233 km N of this epicenter
- 7.256 km N of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 26, 1910 · 169 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1130 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsNovember 16, 1944 · 148 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 96 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 275 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1934M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
18 Jul 1934 · 141 km away
tsunami
- 1953M7.5
Solomon Islands
4 Nov 1953 · 11 km away
tsunami
- 1934M7.1
Solomon Islands; New Caledonia
21 Jul 1934 · 244 km away
tsunami
- 1892
Espiritu Santo
Aug 1892 · 238 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.