Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands19y ago
M4.3 earthquake 106 km SE of Gizo, Solomon Islands
Monday, May 28, 2007, 04:14:30 UTC · 8.647°S, 157.637°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 106 km SE of Gizo, Solomon Islands on Monday, May 28, 2007, 04:14:30 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 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
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
35 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on June 16, 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 583 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 · 68 km W of this epicenter
- 7.823 km SSE of Malango, Solomon IslandsApril 30, 1939 · 277 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.562 km SW of Malango, Solomon IslandsJanuary 25, 1926 · 239 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.341 km ESE of Malango, Solomon IslandsFebruary 19, 1906 · 298 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 166 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2143 km W of Gizo, Solomon IslandsJuly 29, 1977 · 241 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2155 km WNW of Malango, Solomon IslandsOctober 14, 1991 · 101 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 64 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2007M8.1
Solomon Islands
1 Apr 2007 · 68 km away
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1939M7.9
Solomon Islands
30 Apr 1939 · 190 km away
12 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 221 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1974M7.1
Solomon Islands
1 Feb 1974 · 264 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1926M6.9
Solomon Islands
16 Sep 1926 · 236 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1926M7.5
Guadalcanal
25 Jan 1926 · 234 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.