M5.0 earthquake 191 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu

Thursday, October 23, 1980, 05:47:03 UTC · 12.589°S, 166.366°E

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 191 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu on Thursday, October 23, 1980, 05:47:03 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on October 20, 1980.

Magnitude: 5.0; Moderate · mb
Depth: 33 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: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

477 tons of TNT

That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

54 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

33 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 75 km

USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.2 on October 27, 1980. 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 531 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 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

1973M7.5
Espiritu Santo, Luganille
28 Dec 1973 · 210 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 158 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1973M7.2
Luganville, Lamap
29 Dec 1973 · 287 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1980M7.5
Santa Cruz Islands: Banks
8 Jul 1980 · 20 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1980M6.1
Vanuatu Islands
12 May 1980 · 267 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1980M7.9
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
17 Jul 1980 · 49 km away
tsunami

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

Nearby trackers