Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands19y ago
M4.3 earthquake 101 km NNW of Gizo, Solomon Islands
Saturday, May 26, 2007, 02:41:28 UTC · 7.228°S, 156.555°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 101 km NNW of Gizo, Solomon Islands on Saturday, May 26, 2007, 02:41:28 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- 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
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
91 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Pacific and Woodlark 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on May 26, 2007. 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 1,066 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.12007 Solomon Islands EarthquakeApril 1, 2007 · 148 km S of this epicenter
- 7.956 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 180 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 130 km W of this epicenter
- 7.794 km SSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 155 km W of this epicenter
- 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 48 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2143 km W of Gizo, Solomon IslandsJuly 29, 1977 · 143 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.2139 km WNW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaAugust 16, 1995 · 293 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.258 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaApril 29, 1996 · 189 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 58 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2007M8.1
Solomon Islands
1 Apr 2007 · 148 km away
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 130 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1996M7.2
Bougainville Island
29 Apr 1996 · 189 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1975M7.9
Bismarck Sea: Bougainville
20 Jul 1975 · 180 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 68 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1974M7.1
Solomon Islands
1 Feb 1974 · 107 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.