QuakeScout
Magnitude7.0

Reviewed by USGSVanuatu93y ago

M7.0 earthquake 165 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu

Thursday, July 19, 1934, 07:36:58 UTC · 12.981°S, 166.332°E

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 165 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Thursday, July 19, 1934, 07:36:58 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on July 18, 1934.

Magnitude
7.0
Strong · mw
Depth
15 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

445 kilotons of TNT

That is about 30 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 933 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

42 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.8 on August 7, 1934. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M5M6M71h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M7.0
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 6.8173 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu93y ago · 38 km NE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 45 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 130 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.344 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuJanuary 5, 1915 · 178 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.379 km WSW of Sola, VanuatuAugust 6, 1912 · 132 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.397 km E of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 22, 1911 · 294 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.256 km N of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 26, 1910 · 189 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.0143 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 15, 1921 · 72 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 7.046 km WNW of Port-Olry, VanuatuApril 10, 1909 · 209 km S of this epicenter
  8. 7.045 km E of Lata, Solomon IslandsJune 20, 1914 · 248 km N 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:

  1. 1910M7.2

    Espiritu Santo

    10 Nov 1910 · 115 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1909

    Espiritu Santo

    8 Jul 1909 · 295 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1934M7.8

    Santa Cruz Islands

    18 Jul 1934 · 127 km away

    tsunami

  4. 1934M7.1

    Solomon Islands; New Caledonia

    21 Jul 1934 · 224 km away

    tsunami

  5. 1892

    Espiritu Santo

    Aug 1892 · 258 km away

    tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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