Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands101y ago
M5.9 earthquake 15 km SSW of Honiara, Solomon Islands
Monday, May 17, 1926, 17:18:05 UTC · 9.562°S, 159.889°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 15 km SSW of Honiara, Solomon Islands on Monday, May 17, 1926, 17:18:05 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on April 16, 1926.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · 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
12 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 25 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
66 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 12 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 · 87 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.547 km ESE of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsDecember 10, 1910 · 291 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.334 km WNW of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsApril 12, 1926 · 210 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.341 km ESE of Malango, Solomon IslandsFebruary 19, 1906 · 41 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1110 km SE of Gizo, Solomon IslandsMarch 27, 1926 · 277 km W of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsDecember 9, 1909 · 81 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.853 km WSW of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsOctober 27, 1918 · 205 km SE 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 · 42 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1926M7.5
Guadalcanal
25 Jan 1926 · 92 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1926M7.5
Solomon Islands
12 Apr 1926 · 131 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.