Reviewed by USGSVanuatu116y ago
M6.9 earthquake 55 km SSW of Sola, Vanuatu
Tuesday, July 11, 1911, 21:22:21 UTC · 14.293°S, 167.271°E
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 55 km SSW of Sola, Vanuatu on Tuesday, July 11, 1911, 21:22:21 UTC, at a depth of 175.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on November 26, 1910.
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Strong · ms
- Depth
- 175 km
- Intermediate
- 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
72 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
175 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 9 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 · 222 km S of this epicenter
- 7.3207 km E of Sola, VanuatuFebruary 19, 1905 · 236 km E of this epicenter
- 7.256 km N of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 26, 1910 · 35 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1157 km E of Lakatoro, VanuatuOctober 11, 1907 · 270 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.046 km WNW of Port-Olry, VanuatuApril 10, 1909 · 86 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.84 km S of Sola, VanuatuJune 27, 1909 · 52 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.761 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuNovember 10, 1910 · 7 km S of this epicenter
- 6.6139 km ESE of Lakatoro, VanuatuApril 25, 1905 · 281 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 89 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 134 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1910M7.9
Espiritu Santo
9 Nov 1910 · 234 km away
- 1892
Espiritu Santo
Aug 1892 · 116 km away
tsunami
- 1905
Malo Pass
19 Mar 1905 · 146 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.