Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands101y ago
M6.5 earthquake 81 km SE of Gizo, Solomon Islands
Wednesday, July 28, 1926, 08:52:24 UTC · 8.563°S, 157.422°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 81 km SE of Gizo, Solomon Islands on Wednesday, July 28, 1926, 08:52:24 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on March 27, 1926.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very 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
94 kilotons of TNT
That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 197 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
30 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 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 8 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 · 263 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1110 km SE of Gizo, Solomon IslandsMarch 27, 1926 · 37 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0147 km SSW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsMay 7, 1920 · 143 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.7112 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 21, 1918 · 249 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.339 km N of Gizo, Solomon IslandsJune 16, 1918 · 114 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.1128 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 12, 1917 · 264 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.062 km SSE of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 21, 1918 · 266 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.915 km SSW of Honiara, Solomon IslandsMay 17, 1926 · 293 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1926M6.9
Solomon Islands
16 Sep 1926 · 261 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1926M7.5
Guadalcanal
25 Jan 1926 · 258 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.