Reviewed by USGS31y ago
M5.1 earthquake southeast of the Loyalty Islands
Wednesday, September 6, 1995, 22:07:26 UTC · 23.306°S, 170.713°E
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands on Wednesday, September 6, 1995, 22:07:26 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on August 17, 1995.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · ms
- 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
41 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
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 75 km
USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on September 20, 1995. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.3278 km ESE of Vao, New Caledonia31y ago · 73 km W of this epicenter
- 4.6southeast of the Loyalty Islands31y ago · 39 km W of this epicenter
- 4.6southeast of the Loyalty Islands31y ago · 39 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.2southeast of the Loyalty Islands31y ago · 12 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.8292 km E of Vao, New Caledonia31y ago · 49 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.4293 km ESE of Vao, New Caledonia31y ago · 48 km W of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 477 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7249 km E of Vao, New CaledoniaMay 16, 1995 · 89 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 110 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 14, 1906 · 126 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2207 km E of Tadine, New CaledoniaOctober 25, 1980 · 181 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsAugust 17, 1935 · 135 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsApril 14, 1906 · 129 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1175 km SE of Isangel, VanuatuMarch 30, 1910 · 287 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 163 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1995M7.7
Noumea; Vanuatu: Port-Vila
16 May 1995 · 89 km away · intensity III
tsunami
- 1928M7.5
Loyalty Islands
16 Mar 1928 · 147 km away
- 1943M7.5
Loyalty Islands
14 Sep 1943 · 148 km away
- 1944M7.5
Loyalty Islands
5 Oct 1944 · 159 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.