Reviewed by USGSNew Caledonia22y ago
M4.6 earthquake 197 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia
Friday, May 7, 2004, 21:59:51 UTC · 21.720°S, 169.781°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 197 km E of Tadine, New Caledonia on Friday, May 7, 2004, 21:59:51 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on May 7, 2004.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
47 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
10 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on May 25, 2004. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 961 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11920 Vanuatu EarthquakeSeptember 20, 1920 · 236 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 237 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7249 km E of Vao, New CaledoniaMay 16, 1995 · 144 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 95 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5southeast of the Loyalty IslandsJanuary 4, 1998 · 133 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.447 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 11, 1992 · 288 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3201 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaDecember 27, 2003 · 33 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1875M8.1
Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island
28 Mar 1875 · 233 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 38 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 236 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 260 km away
- 1995M7.7
Noumea; Vanuatu: Port-Vila
16 May 1995 · 144 km away · intensity III
tsunami
- 1910M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
1 Jun 1910 · 208 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.