Reviewed by USGSNew Caledonia7y ago
M4.0 earthquake 100 km ESE of Vao, New Caledonia
Thursday, December 27, 2018, 06:17:22 UTC · 23.097°S, 168.362°E
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 100 km ESE of Vao, New Caledonia on Thursday, December 27, 2018, 06:17:22 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
163 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
10 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 973 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7249 km E of Vao, New CaledoniaMay 16, 1995 · 158 km E of this epicenter
- 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 224 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5southeast of the Loyalty IslandsJanuary 4, 1998 · 276 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5166 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaDecember 5, 2018 · 168 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3201 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaDecember 27, 2003 · 188 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2207 km E of Tadine, New CaledoniaOctober 25, 1980 · 204 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1119 km S of Isangel, VanuatuMarch 25, 2007 · 294 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 208 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2018M7.5
Loyalty Islands
5 Dec 2018 · 168 km away · intensity III
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1995M7.7
Noumea; Vanuatu: Port-Vila
16 May 1995 · 158 km away · intensity III
tsunami
- 1928M7.5
Loyalty Islands
16 Mar 1928 · 251 km away
- 1943M7.5
Loyalty Islands
14 Sep 1943 · 297 km away
- 2003M7.3
Loyalty Islands
27 Dec 2003 · 188 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.