Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands35y ago
M4.3 earthquake 150 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands
Tuesday, October 15, 1991, 10:34:36 UTC · 9.121°S, 158.480°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 150 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands on Tuesday, October 15, 1991, 10:34:36 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
36 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific 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 lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on November 13, 1991. 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 305 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.823 km SSE of Malango, Solomon IslandsApril 30, 1939 · 170 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.6121 km W of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsAugust 10, 1988 · 291 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.685 km SE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsFebruary 7, 1984 · 240 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5105 km ESE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsApril 20, 1977 · 269 km E of this epicenter
- 7.566 km SE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsApril 20, 1977 · 222 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5103 km SE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsApril 21, 1977 · 264 km E of this epicenter
- 7.562 km SW of Malango, Solomon IslandsJanuary 25, 1926 · 136 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.341 km ESE of Malango, Solomon IslandsFebruary 19, 1906 · 192 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 65 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1977M6.8
Solomon Islands
20 Apr 1977 · 217 km away · intensity VI
34 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1977M8.1
Solomon Islands
21 Apr 1977 · 264 km away · intensity VII
18 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1939M7.9
Solomon Islands
30 Apr 1939 · 85 km away
12 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1988M7.6
San Cristobal, Guadalcanal
10 Aug 1988 · 293 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1984M7.5
Guadalcanal
7 Feb 1984 · 240 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1926M6.9
Solomon Islands
16 Sep 1926 · 130 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.