M5.0 earthquake 150 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia

Friday, February 20, 1981, 13:06:16 UTC · 21.324°S, 169.308°E

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 150 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia on Friday, February 20, 1981, 13:06:16 UTC, at a depth of 14.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on February 19, 1981.

Magnitude: 5.0; Moderate · mb
Depth: 15 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

33 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

15 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 12 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on February 24, 1981. 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 452 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 15 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 · 170 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 104 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 172 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1878M7.5
Tanna Island
10 Jan 1878 · 272 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 205 km away
1878M8.0
Vanuatu Islands
11 Feb 1878 · 272 km away
tsunami

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

Nearby trackers