Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands93y ago
M7.7 earthquake 138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands
Wednesday, July 18, 1934, 19:40:20 UTC · 11.818°S, 166.413°E
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands on Wednesday, July 18, 1934, 19:40:20 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.7
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 10 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
5.4 megatons of TNT
That is about 355 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11,220 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
24 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the African and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 200 km
USGS lists 10 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M7.3 on July 21, 1934. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 6.8173 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu93y ago · 97 km S of this epicenter
- 6.0111 km SSW of Lata, Solomon Islands93y ago · 91 km W of this epicenter
- 6.249 km WSW of Lata, Solomon Islands93y ago · 160 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.717 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands93y ago · 121 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.345 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands93y ago · 94 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.436 km ESE of Lata, Solomon Islands93y ago · 109 km N of this epicenter
- 6.361 km SSW of Lata, Solomon Islands93y ago · 100 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0165 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu93y ago · 130 km S of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 34 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.344 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuJanuary 5, 1915 · 287 km S of this epicenter
- 7.379 km WSW of Sola, VanuatuAugust 6, 1912 · 253 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0143 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 15, 1921 · 116 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.045 km E of Lata, Solomon IslandsJune 20, 1914 · 120 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9212 km S of Lata, Solomon IslandsSeptember 22, 1928 · 109 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.955 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuJuly 11, 1911 · 290 km S of this epicenter
- 6.896 km W of Lata, Solomon IslandsAugust 23, 1918 · 200 km NW 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 · 243 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1934M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
18 Jul 1934 · 36 km away
tsunami
- 1909M7.7
Solomon Islands
9 Dec 1909 · 254 km away
- 1900M7.6
Santa Cruz Islands
29 Jul 1900 · 254 km away
- 1934M7.1
Solomon Islands; New Caledonia
21 Jul 1934 · 125 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.