QuakeScout
Magnitude4.6

Reviewed by USGSVanuatu53y ago

M4.6 earthquake 34 km ENE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu

Thursday, February 14, 1974, 14:12:58 UTC · 14.902°S, 167.361°E

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 34 km ENE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu on Thursday, February 14, 1974, 14:12:58 UTC, at a depth of 141.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on February 8, 1974.

Magnitude
4.6
Light · mb
Depth
141 km
Intermediate
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

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

118 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: intermediate

141 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

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

  1. 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 286 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.745 km NNE of Port-Olry, VanuatuMay 20, 1965 · 33 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 7.631 km S of Luganville, VanuatuAugust 11, 1965 · 102 km S of this epicenter
  4. 7.581 km NW of Port-Olry, VanuatuDecember 28, 1973 · 95 km NW of this epicenter
  5. 7.447 km WSW of Norsup, VanuatuNovember 9, 1910 · 157 km S of this epicenter
  6. 7.443 km W of Norsup, VanuatuAugust 13, 1965 · 141 km S of this epicenter
  7. 7.3207 km E of Sola, VanuatuFebruary 19, 1905 · 242 km E of this epicenter
  8. 7.344 km SSW of Sola, VanuatuJanuary 5, 1915 · 75 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, which together caused about 1 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1971M7.1

    Espiritu Santo, Port Vila

    27 Oct 1971 · 69 km away · intensity VII

    1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)

  2. 1965M7.6

    Vanuatu Islands

    11 Aug 1965 · 101 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1973M7.5

    Espiritu Santo, Luganille

    28 Dec 1973 · 95 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 1910M7.2

    Espiritu Santo

    10 Nov 1910 · 137 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1973M7.2

    Luganville, Lamap

    29 Dec 1973 · 55 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1909

    Espiritu Santo

    8 Jul 1909 · 69 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages