Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands114y ago
M7.3 earthquake 128 km SE of Kirakira, Solomon Islands
Saturday, April 11, 1914, 16:30:18 UTC · 11.300°S, 162.725°E
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 128 km SE of Kirakira, Solomon Islands on Saturday, April 11, 1914, 16:30:18 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on December 10, 1910.
- Magnitude
- 7.3
- Major · 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
1.3 megatons of TNT
That is about 86 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,723 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
8 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 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.547 km ESE of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsDecember 10, 1910 · 84 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsDecember 9, 1909 · 285 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.7106 km ESE of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsJune 9, 1905 · 74 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3111 km SE of Auki, Solomon IslandsFebruary 14, 1913 · 252 km NW 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:
- 1909M7.7
Solomon Islands
9 Dec 1909 · 288 km away
- 1900M7.6
Santa Cruz Islands
29 Jul 1900 · 288 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.