Reviewed by USGSVanuatu104y ago
M6.3 earthquake 142 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu
Monday, July 16, 1923, 13:38:31 UTC · 15.810°S, 168.716°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 142 km ENE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Monday, July 16, 1923, 13:38:31 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on July 6, 1920.
- 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
49 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 102 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
229 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Pacific 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 24 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.447 km WSW of Norsup, VanuatuNovember 9, 1910 · 189 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3207 km E of Sola, VanuatuFebruary 19, 1905 · 204 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.397 km E of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 22, 1911 · 112 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.344 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuJanuary 5, 1915 · 228 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.379 km WSW of Sola, VanuatuAugust 6, 1912 · 280 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.256 km N of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 26, 1910 · 228 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1157 km E of Lakatoro, VanuatuOctober 11, 1907 · 42 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 166 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1903M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
13 May 1903 · 153 km away
- 1910M7.9
Espiritu Santo
9 Nov 1910 · 291 km away
- 1913M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
10 Nov 1913 · 245 km away
- 1893M6.0
Vanuatu Islands
31 Jul 1893 · 220 km away
tsunami
- 1892
Espiritu Santo
Aug 1892 · 211 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.