Reviewed by USGSNew Caledonia30y ago
M4.3 earthquake 197 km E of Vao, New Caledonia
Saturday, April 20, 1996, 21:34:38 UTC · 22.845°S, 169.411°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 197 km E of Vao, New Caledonia on Saturday, April 20, 1996, 21:34:38 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 earthquake
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
70 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 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 594 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 · 53 km E of this epicenter
- 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 115 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 14, 1906 · 229 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2207 km E of Tadine, New CaledoniaOctober 25, 1980 · 116 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsAugust 17, 1935 · 219 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1southeast of the Loyalty IslandsApril 14, 1906 · 206 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1175 km SE of Isangel, VanuatuMarch 30, 1910 · 255 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 112 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1995M7.7
Noumea; Vanuatu: Port-Vila
16 May 1995 · 53 km away · intensity III
tsunami
- 1928M7.5
Loyalty Islands
16 Mar 1928 · 146 km away
- 1943M7.5
Loyalty Islands
14 Sep 1943 · 188 km away
- 1944M7.5
Loyalty Islands
5 Oct 1944 · 268 km away
- 1994M7.0
Vanuatu Islands
12 Feb 1994 · 255 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.