M7.5 earthquake 92 km ESE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu

Friday, November 26, 1999, 13:21:15 UTC · 16.423°S, 168.214°E

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 92 km ESE of Lakatoro, Vanuatu on Friday, November 26, 1999, 13:21:15 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on December 28, 1973.

Magnitude: 7.5; Major · mwc
Depth: 33 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

2.7 megatons of TNT

That is about 178 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5,623 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

149 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

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 200 km

USGS lists 24 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on November 26, 1999. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 972 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 33 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 11 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1999M7.5
Pentecost
26 Nov 1999 · 0 km away
10 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1971M7.1
Espiritu Santo, Port Vila
27 Oct 1971 · 149 km away · intensity VII
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)
1965M7.6
Vanuatu Islands
11 Aug 1965 · 129 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1973M7.5
Espiritu Santo, Luganille
28 Dec 1973 · 279 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1973M7.2
Luganville, Lamap
29 Dec 1973 · 202 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1990M6.4
Espiritu Santo
27 Jul 1990 · 143 km away · intensity V
Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers