QuakeScout
Magnitude4.8

Reviewed by USGSVanuatu34y ago

M4.8 earthquake 179 km SSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

Monday, October 19, 1992, 19:34:06 UTC · 19.192°S, 167.560°E

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 179 km SSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Monday, October 19, 1992, 19:34:06 UTC, at a depth of 31.1 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on October 19, 1992.

Magnitude
4.8
Light · mb
Depth
31 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

239 tons of TNT

That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

16 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

31 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 635 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 · 130 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.999 km SW of Port-Vila, VanuatuDecember 2, 1950 · 92 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 213 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 143 km E of this epicenter
  5. 7.447 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 11, 1992 · 146 km E of this epicenter
  6. 7.363 km S of Port-Vila, VanuatuJuly 23, 1961 · 125 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 7.247 km NNW of Isangel, VanuatuNovember 24, 1944 · 171 km E of this epicenter
  8. 7.262 km NE of Isangel, VanuatuJuly 2, 1953 · 218 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 24 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 · 133 km away

    26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1920M8.1

    Loyalty Islands

    20 Sep 1920 · 130 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  3. 1878M7.5

    Tanna Island

    10 Jan 1878 · 101 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  4. 1961M7.3

    Vanuatu Islands

    23 Jul 1961 · 124 km away · intensity VI

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1933M6.4

    Malekula

    19 Nov 1933 · 256 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1913M8.1

    Vanuatu Islands

    14 Oct 1913 · 155 km away

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

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