Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands52y ago
M4.8 earthquake 118 km NW of Gizo, Solomon Islands
Monday, December 16, 1974, 05:11:49 UTC · 7.476°S, 155.971°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 118 km NW of Gizo, Solomon Islands on Monday, December 16, 1974, 05:11:49 UTC, at a depth of 150.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on December 7, 1974.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 150 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
31 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Woodlark plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
150 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on January 14, 1975. 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 265 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 · 78 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 62 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2155 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaOctober 19, 1949 · 273 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2282 km SW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaOctober 23, 1974 · 238 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1110 km SE of Gizo, Solomon IslandsMarch 27, 1926 · 228 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1118 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaFebruary 1, 1974 · 45 km W of this epicenter
- 7.067 km WNW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsAugust 17, 1959 · 52 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0126 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsJanuary 31, 1974 · 9 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 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 · 78 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 4 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1974M7.1
Solomon Islands
1 Feb 1974 · 42 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1907M7.7
New Britain
4 May 1907 · 250 km away
- 1974M7.0
Solomon Islands
31 Jan 1974 · 8 km away
tsunami
- 1955M6.5
Fauro Island
8 Sep 1955 · 71 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.