Reviewed by USGSVanuatu110y ago
M6.2 earthquake 257 km E of Isangel, Vanuatu
Thursday, September 20, 1917, 02:50:15 UTC · 19.772°S, 171.728°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 257 km E of Isangel, Vanuatu on Thursday, September 20, 1917, 02:50:15 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on May 9, 1917.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- 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
29 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 61 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
171 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Conway Reef and New Hebrides 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 11 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 · 229 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsApril 14, 1906 · 283 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1175 km SE of Isangel, VanuatuMarch 30, 1910 · 176 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.946 km NE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 30, 1905 · 228 km W of this epicenter
- 6.986 km NE of Isangel, VanuatuMarch 25, 1912 · 204 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.893 km S of Isangel, VanuatuJune 1, 1910 · 258 km W of this epicenter
- 6.8southeast of the Loyalty IslandsMarch 10, 1906 · 232 km S of this epicenter
- 6.7126 km SSE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 1, 1910 · 241 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 287 km away
- 1910M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
16 Jun 1910 · 249 km away
- 1910M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
1 Jun 1910 · 286 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.