Reviewed by USGS74y ago
M7.0 earthquake in Solomon Islands
Saturday, December 6, 1952, 10:41:22 UTC · 8.229°S, 156.434°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck in Solomon Islands on Saturday, December 6, 1952, 10:41:22 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on January 30, 1939.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- 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
415 kilotons of TNT
That is about 28 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 871 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
7 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
15 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 55 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 172 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 64 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1110 km SE of Gizo, Solomon IslandsMarch 27, 1926 · 135 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0147 km SSW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsMay 7, 1920 · 126 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0133 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 29, 1932 · 293 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.973 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaSeptember 9, 1941 · 254 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.869 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaApril 24, 1931 · 254 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.7112 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 21, 1918 · 141 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 172 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.