Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands101y ago
M6.2 earthquake 77 km NNW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands
Friday, April 16, 1926, 00:29:27 UTC · 9.814°S, 161.641°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 77 km NNW of Kirakira, Solomon Islands on Friday, April 16, 1926, 00:29:27 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on April 12, 1926.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- 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
31 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 65 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
148 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific 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 13 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.562 km SW of Malango, Solomon IslandsJanuary 25, 1926 · 260 km W of this epicenter
- 7.547 km ESE of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsDecember 10, 1910 · 120 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.334 km WNW of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsApril 12, 1926 · 61 km S of this epicenter
- 7.341 km ESE of Malango, Solomon IslandsFebruary 19, 1906 · 176 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3128 km SE of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsApril 11, 1914 · 203 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsDecember 9, 1909 · 128 km W of this epicenter
- 6.853 km WSW of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsOctober 27, 1918 · 88 km S 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 · 233 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1926M7.5
Guadalcanal
25 Jan 1926 · 267 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1926M7.5
Solomon Islands
12 Apr 1926 · 73 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.