Reviewed by USGSVanuatu115y ago
M7.3 earthquake 79 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu
Tuesday, August 6, 1912, 21:11:16 UTC · 14.056°S, 166.842°E
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 79 km WSW of Sola, Vanuatu on Tuesday, August 6, 1912, 21:11:16 UTC, at a depth of 165.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on November 22, 1911.
- Magnitude
- 7.3
- Major · mB
- Depth
- 165 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
1.3 megatons of TNT
That is about 89 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,818 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
40 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
165 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 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 10 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 · 247 km S of this epicenter
- 7.3207 km E of Sola, VanuatuFebruary 19, 1905 · 282 km E of this epicenter
- 7.397 km E of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 22, 1911 · 168 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.256 km N of Port-Olry, VanuatuNovember 26, 1910 · 58 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.046 km WNW of Port-Olry, VanuatuApril 10, 1909 · 87 km S of this epicenter
- 6.955 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuJuly 11, 1911 · 53 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.84 km S of Sola, VanuatuJune 27, 1909 · 79 km E of this epicenter
- 6.761 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuNovember 10, 1910 · 56 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 · 37 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 165 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1910M7.9
Espiritu Santo
9 Nov 1910 · 234 km away
- 1892
Espiritu Santo
Aug 1892 · 133 km away
tsunami
- 1905
Malo Pass
19 Mar 1905 · 176 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.