Reviewed by USGSVanuatu46y ago
M4.8 earthquake 210 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu
Wednesday, October 29, 1980, 14:30:13 UTC · 12.883°S, 165.897°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 210 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Wednesday, October 29, 1980, 14:30:13 UTC, at a depth of 86.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on October 27, 1980.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 86 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
2 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: intermediate
86 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on November 15, 1980. 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 540 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9199 km S of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 17, 1980 · 40 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsDecember 31, 1966 · 129 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 100 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.745 km NNE of Port-Olry, VanuatuMay 20, 1965 · 242 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 131 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5196 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 8, 1980 · 74 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.581 km NW of Port-Olry, VanuatuDecember 28, 1973 · 192 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.428 km NW of Lata, Solomon IslandsSeptember 15, 1963 · 264 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. The most severe:
- 1973M7.5
Espiritu Santo, Luganille
28 Dec 1973 · 191 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 140 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1973M7.2
Luganville, Lamap
29 Dec 1973 · 271 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1980M7.5
Santa Cruz Islands: Banks
8 Jul 1980 · 74 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1980M6.1
Vanuatu Islands
12 May 1980 · 279 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1980M7.9
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
17 Jul 1980 · 40 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.