QuakeScout
Magnitude4.2

Reviewed by USGSVanuatu29y ago

M4.2 earthquake 222 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu

Sunday, June 15, 1997, 20:07:21 UTC · 13.145°S, 165.638°E

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 222 km WNW of Sola, Vanuatu on Sunday, June 15, 1997, 20:07:21 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
4.2
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

30 tons of TNT

That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

35 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 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 1,152 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.9199 km S of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 17, 1980 · 75 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.8146 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsDecember 31, 1966 · 169 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 139 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.745 km NNE of Port-Olry, VanuatuMay 20, 1965 · 237 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.7171 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuApril 21, 1997 · 129 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 170 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 7.5196 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 8, 1980 · 115 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 7.581 km NW of Port-Olry, VanuatuDecember 28, 1973 · 180 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:

  1. 1973M7.5

    Espiritu Santo, Luganille

    28 Dec 1973 · 179 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  2. 1910M7.2

    Espiritu Santo

    10 Nov 1910 · 133 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1973M7.2

    Luganville, Lamap

    29 Dec 1973 · 258 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 1997M7.7

    Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu

    21 Apr 1997 · 129 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1980M7.5

    Santa Cruz Islands: Banks

    8 Jul 1980 · 115 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1980M6.1

    Vanuatu Islands

    12 May 1980 · 285 km away · intensity VI

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

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