QuakeScout
Magnitude4.7

Reviewed by USGSNew Caledonia45y ago

M4.7 earthquake 210 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia

Tuesday, July 28, 1981, 12:39:33 UTC · 22.049°S, 169.840°E

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 210 km ESE of Tadine, New Caledonia on Tuesday, July 28, 1981, 12:39:33 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on July 27, 1981.

Magnitude
4.7
Light · 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

169 tons of TNT

That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

23 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

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 50 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 406 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.11920 Vanuatu EarthquakeSeptember 20, 1920 · 270 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 274 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 67 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.2southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 14, 1906 · 190 km E of this epicenter
  5. 7.2207 km E of Tadine, New CaledoniaOctober 25, 1980 · 18 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsAugust 17, 1935 · 170 km E of this epicenter
  7. 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsApril 14, 1906 · 155 km E 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:

  1. 1875M8.1

    Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island

    28 Mar 1875 · 267 km away

    26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1901M7.9

    Loyalty Islands

    9 Aug 1901 · 17 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1920M8.1

    Loyalty Islands

    20 Sep 1920 · 270 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  4. 1913M8.1

    Vanuatu Islands

    14 Oct 1913 · 297 km away

  5. 1910M7.5

    Vanuatu Islands

    1 Jun 1910 · 244 km away

  6. 1928M7.5

    Loyalty Islands

    16 Mar 1928 · 68 km away

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

Nearby trackers

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