Reviewed by USGSVanuatu22y ago
M3.8 earthquake 273 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu
Tuesday, July 6, 2004, 08:46:11 UTC · 21.665°S, 170.620°E
A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 273 km SSE of Isangel, Vanuatu on Tuesday, July 6, 2004, 08:46:11 UTC, at a depth of 182.2 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 3.8
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 182 km
- Intermediate
- 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
8 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,992 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 63 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
110 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: intermediate
182 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 946 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 · 291 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 255 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7249 km E of Vao, New CaledoniaMay 16, 1995 · 167 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 81 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5southeast of the Loyalty IslandsJanuary 4, 1998 · 77 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3201 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaDecember 27, 2003 · 96 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2southeast of the Loyalty IslandsNovember 14, 1906 · 141 km SE 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 · 288 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1901M7.9
Loyalty Islands
9 Aug 1901 · 74 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 291 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1913M8.1
Vanuatu Islands
14 Oct 1913 · 294 km away
- 1995M7.7
Noumea; Vanuatu: Port-Vila
16 May 1995 · 167 km away · intensity III
tsunami
- 1910M7.5
Vanuatu Islands
1 Jun 1910 · 250 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.