Reviewed by USGSVanuatu116y ago
M6.9 earthquake 86 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu
Monday, March 25, 1912, 04:49:29 UTC · 19.061°S, 169.936°E
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 86 km NE of Isangel, Vanuatu on Monday, March 25, 1912, 04:49:29 UTC, at a depth of 255.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on June 16, 1910.
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Strong · mB
- Depth
- 255 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
214 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: intermediate
255 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:
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 73 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1175 km SE of Isangel, VanuatuMarch 30, 1910 · 193 km S of this epicenter
- 6.946 km NE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 30, 1905 · 41 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.943 km N of Port-Vila, VanuatuFebruary 4, 1910 · 257 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.872 km WSW of Isangel, VanuatuMay 1, 1910 · 159 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.893 km S of Isangel, VanuatuJune 1, 1910 · 160 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.7126 km SSE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 1, 1910 · 178 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7220 km E of Tadine, New CaledoniaAugust 18, 1909 · 265 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 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 · 183 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1878M7.5
Tanna Island
10 Jan 1878 · 151 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1878M8.0
Vanuatu Islands
11 Feb 1878 · 151 km away
tsunami
- 1910M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
16 Jun 1910 · 46 km away
- 1863M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
17 Aug 1863 · 151 km away
tsunami
- 1910M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
1 Jun 1910 · 143 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.