Reviewed by USGSVanuatu29y ago
M4.1 earthquake 143 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu
Saturday, May 24, 1997, 04:51:34 UTC · 13.160°S, 166.447°E
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 143 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Saturday, May 24, 1997, 04:51:34 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
48 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
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 lists 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.3 on May 24, 1997. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.5147 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu29y ago · 15 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.4172 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu29y ago · 37 km N of this epicenter
- 4.3144 km NW of Sola, Vanuatu29y ago · 2 km N of this epicenter
- 4.8135 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu29y ago · 46 km S of this epicenter
- 4.3147 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu29y ago · 23 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.4154 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu29y ago · 19 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.3177 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu29y ago · 35 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,201 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9199 km S of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 17, 1980 · 91 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsDecember 31, 1966 · 144 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 86 km N of this epicenter
- 7.745 km NNE of Port-Olry, VanuatuMay 20, 1965 · 184 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7171 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuApril 21, 1997 · 69 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 149 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5196 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 8, 1980 · 84 km N of this epicenter
- 7.581 km NW of Port-Olry, VanuatuDecember 28, 1973 · 146 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 25 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1971M7.1
Espiritu Santo, Port Vila
27 Oct 1971 · 273 km away · intensity VII
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1973M7.5
Espiritu Santo, Luganille
28 Dec 1973 · 145 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 94 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1973M7.2
Luganville, Lamap
29 Dec 1973 · 223 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1990M6.4
Espiritu Santo
27 Jul 1990 · 268 km away · intensity V
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 273 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.