M5.3 earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands

Wednesday, January 16, 2019, 04:12:35 UTC · 21.779°S, 169.017°E

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands on Wednesday, January 16, 2019, 04:12:35 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 1 “Did You Feel It?” report, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on December 23, 2018.

Magnitude: 5.3; Moderate · mww
Depth: 10 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 1; Max intensity III
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

20 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Nouméa, Sud, New Caledonia	III · Weak	1	269 km

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 populated area was estimated to feel noticeable shaking.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on January 21, 2019. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,603 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 27 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 · 205 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 104 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 208 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
2018M7.5
Loyalty Islands
5 Dec 2018 · 46 km away · intensity III
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
2010M7.3
Vanuatu Islands
25 Dec 2010 · 256 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 253 km away

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers