Reviewed by USGSVanuatu89y ago
M6.1 earthquake 36 km SW of Isangel, Vanuatu
Thursday, June 30, 1938, 16:44:46 UTC · 19.802°S, 169.062°E
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 36 km SW of Isangel, Vanuatu on Thursday, June 30, 1938, 16:44:46 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on June 23, 1938.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
19 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 39 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
95 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Australian 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 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 52 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11920 Vanuatu EarthquakeSeptember 20, 1920 · 64 km W of this epicenter
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 55 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 82 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2113 km SSE of Port-Vila, VanuatuMarch 22, 1925 · 129 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1175 km SE of Isangel, VanuatuMarch 30, 1910 · 173 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.184 km SW of Port-Vila, VanuatuJanuary 24, 1927 · 218 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.072 km SW of Isangel, VanuatuMay 30, 1938 · 36 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1875M8.1
Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island
28 Mar 1875 · 63 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 263 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 64 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1878M7.5
Tanna Island
10 Jan 1878 · 107 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 34 km away
- 1878M8.0
Vanuatu Islands
11 Feb 1878 · 107 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.