Reviewed by USGS33y ago
M6.7 earthquake in Vanuatu region
Wednesday, June 30, 1993, 23:47:33 UTC · 20.836°S, 172.957°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck in Vanuatu region on Wednesday, June 30, 1993, 23:47:33 UTC, at a depth of 12.6 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on March 3, 1990.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 13 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: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
169 kilotons of TNT
That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 355 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
44 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Conway Reef and New Hebrides plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
13 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 100 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on July 8, 1993. 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 270 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.6south of the Fiji IslandsMarch 3, 1990 · 269 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 14, 1906 · 235 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsAugust 17, 1935 · 225 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsApril 14, 1906 · 234 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1175 km SE of Isangel, VanuatuMarch 30, 1910 · 267 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 15, 1984 · 246 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0southeast of the Loyalty IslandsAugust 25, 1926 · 263 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0southeast of the Loyalty IslandsOctober 5, 1944 · 193 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1990M7.6
Fiji Islands
3 Mar 1990 · 269 km away
- 1928M7.5
Loyalty Islands
16 Mar 1928 · 285 km away
- 1943M7.5
Loyalty Islands
14 Sep 1943 · 240 km away
- 1944M7.5
Loyalty Islands
5 Oct 1944 · 210 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.