Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands13y ago
M4.6 earthquake 29 km E of Lata, Solomon Islands
Thursday, June 6, 2013, 22:57:43 UTC · 10.702°S, 166.066°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 29 km E of Lata, Solomon Islands on Thursday, June 6, 2013, 22:57:43 UTC, at a depth of 34.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on June 6, 2013.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
99 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the African and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
35 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on July 3, 2013. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,278 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.02013 Santa Cruz Islands EarthquakeFebruary 6, 2013 · 105 km W of this epicenter
- 7.9199 km S of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 17, 1980 · 203 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsDecember 31, 1966 · 137 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 202 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8196 km NW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 7, 2009 · 205 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7171 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuApril 21, 1997 · 220 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km NW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 7, 2009 · 261 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 130 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 21 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 10 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2013M7.9
Santa Cruz Islands
6 Feb 2013 · 105 km away · intensity VIII
10 deaths$36 million damagetsunami
- 1997M7.7
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
21 Apr 1997 · 220 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1980M7.5
Santa Cruz Islands: Banks
8 Jul 1980 · 193 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1980M7.9
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
17 Jul 1980 · 203 km away
tsunami
- 1934M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
18 Jul 1934 · 152 km away
tsunami
- 1957M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
17 Dec 1957 · 191 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.