Reviewed by USGSVanuatu118y ago
M6.9 earthquake 43 km N of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
Friday, February 4, 1910, 14:00:00 UTC · 17.339°S, 168.308°E
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 43 km N of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Friday, February 4, 1910, 14:00:00 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on October 11, 1907.
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- 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
338 kilotons of TNT
That is about 22 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 708 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
117 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides 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 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.1157 km E of Lakatoro, VanuatuOctober 11, 1907 · 146 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.946 km NE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 30, 1905 · 255 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6139 km ESE of Lakatoro, VanuatuApril 25, 1905 · 108 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5286 km E of Port-Vila, VanuatuNovember 3, 1907 · 287 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1875M8.1
Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island
28 Mar 1875 · 297 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 236 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1878M7.5
Tanna Island
10 Jan 1878 · 186 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1878M8.0
Vanuatu Islands
11 Feb 1878 · 186 km away
tsunami
- 1903M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
13 May 1903 · 50 km away
- 1910M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
16 Jun 1910 · 224 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.