Reviewed by USGSVanuatu41y ago
M4.5 earthquake 275 km ESE of Isangel, Vanuatu
Monday, February 3, 1986, 00:53:07 UTC · 20.722°S, 171.604°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 275 km ESE of Isangel, Vanuatu on Monday, February 3, 1986, 00:53:07 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on January 24, 1986.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
185 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Conway Reef and New Hebrides 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 517 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 248 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 221 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 14, 1906 · 202 km S of this epicenter
- 7.262 km NE of Isangel, VanuatuJuly 2, 1953 · 274 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2207 km E of Tadine, New CaledoniaOctober 25, 1980 · 223 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsAugust 17, 1935 · 177 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsApril 14, 1906 · 177 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 219 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1910M7.9
Vanuatu Islands
16 Jun 1910 · 292 km away
- 1910M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
1 Jun 1910 · 283 km away
- 1928M7.5
Loyalty Islands
16 Mar 1928 · 182 km away
- 1943M7.5
Loyalty Islands
14 Sep 1943 · 155 km away
- 1944M7.5
Loyalty Islands
5 Oct 1944 · 202 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.