Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands19y ago
M4.4 earthquake 58 km SE of Gizo, Solomon Islands
Saturday, June 16, 2007, 15:41:05 UTC · 8.447°S, 157.242°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 58 km SE of Gizo, Solomon Islands on Saturday, June 16, 2007, 15:41:05 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- 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
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
34 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
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 M4.8 on June 28, 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 659 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 · 22 km W of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 254 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.794 km SSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 274 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.562 km SW of Malango, Solomon IslandsJanuary 25, 1926 · 287 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 119 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2143 km W of Gizo, Solomon IslandsJuly 29, 1977 · 193 km W of this epicenter
- 7.2155 km WNW of Malango, Solomon IslandsOctober 14, 1991 · 150 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.178 km W of Buala, Solomon IslandsJanuary 5, 1969 · 188 km E 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 69 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2007M8.1
Solomon Islands
1 Apr 2007 · 22 km away
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1939M7.9
Solomon Islands
30 Apr 1939 · 238 km away
12 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 255 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 173 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1974M7.1
Solomon Islands
1 Feb 1974 · 215 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1926M6.9
Solomon Islands
16 Sep 1926 · 285 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.