Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands102y ago
M7.5 earthquake 62 km SW of Malango, Solomon Islands
Monday, January 25, 1926, 00:36:25 UTC · 10.059°S, 159.281°E
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 62 km SW of Malango, Solomon Islands on Monday, January 25, 1926, 00:36:25 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.5
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- 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
2.5 megatons of TNT
That is about 166 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5,248 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
17 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.341 km ESE of Malango, Solomon IslandsFebruary 19, 1906 · 85 km E of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsDecember 9, 1909 · 132 km E of this epicenter
- 6.853 km WSW of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsOctober 27, 1918 · 244 km E of this epicenter
- 6.796 km SW of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsJanuary 6, 1919 · 250 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.493 km ESE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsOctober 30, 1925 · 158 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3111 km SE of Auki, Solomon IslandsFebruary 14, 1913 · 256 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1926M6.9
Solomon Islands
16 Sep 1926 · 50 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1926M7.5
Guadalcanal
25 Jan 1926 · 7 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1926M7.5
Solomon Islands
12 Apr 1926 · 188 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.