Reviewed by USGSNew Caledonia46y ago
M6.0 earthquake 207 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia
Wednesday, December 17, 1980, 00:47:54 UTC · 21.417°S, 169.875°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 207 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia on Wednesday, December 17, 1980, 00:47:54 UTC, at a depth of 86.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on October 29, 1980.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Strong · 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: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
15 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 32 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
75 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: 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 100 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on January 6, 1981. 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 448 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 · 216 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 205 km N of this epicenter
- 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 278 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 118 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 14, 1906 · 218 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.247 km NNW of Isangel, VanuatuNovember 24, 1944 · 265 km N of this epicenter
- 7.262 km NE of Isangel, VanuatuJuly 2, 1953 · 260 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 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 · 213 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 66 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 216 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 232 km away
- 1910M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
16 Jun 1910 · 272 km away
- 1910M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
1 Jun 1910 · 182 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.