QuakeScout
Magnitude4.6

Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands35y ago

M4.6 earthquake 126 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands

Thursday, November 14, 1991, 19:28:43 UTC · 9.227°S, 158.667°E

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 126 km WNW of Malango, Solomon Islands on Thursday, November 14, 1991, 19:28:43 UTC, at a depth of 20.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on November 13, 1991.

Magnitude
4.6
Light · mb
Depth
21 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

120 tons of TNT

That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

33 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

21 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 354 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.8116 km NW of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsOctober 10, 1931 · 278 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.823 km SSE of Malango, Solomon IslandsApril 30, 1939 · 147 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.6121 km W of Kirakira, Solomon IslandsAugust 10, 1988 · 268 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.685 km SE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsFebruary 7, 1984 · 216 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.5105 km ESE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsApril 20, 1977 · 246 km E of this epicenter
  6. 7.566 km SE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsApril 20, 1977 · 199 km E of this epicenter
  7. 7.5103 km SE of Honiara, Solomon IslandsApril 21, 1977 · 241 km E of this epicenter
  8. 7.562 km SW of Malango, Solomon IslandsJanuary 25, 1926 · 114 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 65 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1977M6.8

    Solomon Islands

    20 Apr 1977 · 194 km away · intensity VI

    34 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1977M8.1

    Solomon Islands

    21 Apr 1977 · 241 km away · intensity VII

    18 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1939M7.9

    Solomon Islands

    30 Apr 1939 · 63 km away

    12 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1988M7.6

    San Cristobal, Guadalcanal

    10 Aug 1988 · 270 km away

    1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1984M7.5

    Guadalcanal

    7 Feb 1984 · 216 km away · intensity VI

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1926M6.9

    Solomon Islands

    16 Sep 1926 · 106 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

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