Reviewed by USGSNew Caledonia46y ago
M4.3 earthquake 145 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia
Thursday, November 20, 1980, 14:32:30 UTC · 21.758°S, 169.272°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 145 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia on Thursday, November 20, 1980, 14:32:30 UTC, at a depth of 44.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 44 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
3 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
44 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 50 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on November 22, 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 403 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11920 Vanuatu EarthquakeSeptember 20, 1920 · 214 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 242 km N of this epicenter
- 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 300 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 134 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 14, 1906 · 256 km E of this epicenter
- 7.247 km NNW of Isangel, VanuatuNovember 24, 1944 · 293 km N of this epicenter
- 7.262 km NE of Isangel, VanuatuJuly 2, 1953 · 299 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1875M8.1
Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island
28 Mar 1875 · 211 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 80 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 214 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 253 km away
- 1910M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
1 Jun 1910 · 198 km away
- 1928M7.5
Loyalty Islands
16 Mar 1928 · 130 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.