Reviewed by USGSVanuatu101y ago
M6.3 earthquake 124 km ENE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
Friday, February 4, 1927, 02:49:25 UTC · 17.160°S, 169.316°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 124 km ENE of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Friday, February 4, 1927, 02:49:25 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on January 26, 1927.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
46 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 95 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
226 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 26 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 273 km S of this epicenter
- 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 218 km S of this epicenter
- 7.447 km WSW of Norsup, VanuatuNovember 9, 1910 · 264 km W of this epicenter
- 7.397 km E of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 22, 1911 · 271 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2113 km SSE of Port-Vila, VanuatuMarch 22, 1925 · 192 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1157 km E of Lakatoro, VanuatuOctober 11, 1907 · 121 km N of this epicenter
- 7.184 km SW of Port-Vila, VanuatuJanuary 24, 1927 · 207 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 292 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1878M7.5
Tanna Island
10 Jan 1878 · 222 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 262 km away
- 1878M8.0
Vanuatu Islands
11 Feb 1878 · 222 km away
tsunami
- 1903M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
13 May 1903 · 141 km away
- 1910M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
16 Jun 1910 · 206 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.