Reviewed by USGSVanuatu42y ago
M4.7 earthquake 205 km SE of Isangel, Vanuatu
Monday, December 3, 1984, 17:42:13 UTC · 20.649°S, 170.860°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 205 km SE of Isangel, Vanuatu on Monday, December 3, 1984, 17:42:13 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on December 3, 1984.
- 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
208 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 574 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 · 259 km W of this epicenter
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 180 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 268 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 196 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 14, 1906 · 224 km S of this epicenter
- 7.247 km NNW of Isangel, VanuatuNovember 24, 1944 · 244 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.262 km NE of Isangel, VanuatuJuly 2, 1953 · 215 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 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 · 256 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 175 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 259 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 233 km away
- 1910M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
16 Jun 1910 · 232 km away
- 1910M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
1 Jun 1910 · 207 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.