M6.1 earthquake 92 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands

Wednesday, June 5, 2013, 04:47:26 UTC · 11.401°S, 166.299°E

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 92 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands on Wednesday, June 5, 2013, 04:47:26 UTC, at a depth of 39.0 km (shallow). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on February 9, 2013.

Magnitude: 6.1; Strong · mww
Depth: 39 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

21 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 45 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

22 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

39 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 populated area was estimated to feel noticeable shaking.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 100 km

USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on June 6, 2013. 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 1,562 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 25 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 · 146 km away · intensity VIII
10 deaths$36 million damagetsunami
1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 290 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1997M7.7
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
21 Apr 1997 · 138 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1980M7.5
Santa Cruz Islands: Banks
8 Jul 1980 · 113 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1980M7.9
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
17 Jul 1980 · 132 km away
tsunami
1934M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
18 Jul 1934 · 73 km away
tsunami

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

Nearby trackers