Reviewed by USGS52y ago
M5.2 earthquake in D'Entrecasteaux Islands region
Saturday, October 26, 1974, 13:28:20 UTC · 8.644°S, 153.470°E
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck in D'Entrecasteaux Islands region on Saturday, October 26, 1974, 13:28:20 UTC, at a depth of 70.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on October 25, 1974.
- Magnitude
- 5.2
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 70 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
951 tons of TNT
That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
36 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Solomon Sea and Woodlark plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
70 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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on November 4, 1974. 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 155 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 273 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5199 km SSE of Kokopo, Papua New GuineaAugust 17, 1972 · 297 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2282 km SW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaOctober 23, 1974 · 67 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1118 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaFebruary 1, 1974 · 271 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0126 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsJanuary 31, 1974 · 298 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0133 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 29, 1932 · 243 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.973 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaSeptember 9, 1941 · 279 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9160 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaSeptember 23, 1937 · 229 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 273 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1974M7.1
Solomon Islands
1 Feb 1974 · 272 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1907M7.7
New Britain
4 May 1907 · 130 km away
- 1974M7.0
Solomon Islands
31 Jan 1974 · 296 km away
tsunami
- 1960M6.6
W. Solomon Sea
11 Jun 1960 · 154 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.