Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands19y ago
M4.6 earthquake 37 km E of Gizo, Solomon Islands
Thursday, July 12, 2007, 12:32:50 UTC · 8.083°S, 157.185°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 37 km E of Gizo, Solomon Islands on Thursday, July 12, 2007, 12:32:50 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on July 12, 2007.
- 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 earthquake
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
67 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 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 743 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 · 45 km S of this epicenter
- 7.956 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 288 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.885 km S of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJanuary 30, 1939 · 227 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.794 km SSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaJuly 20, 1975 · 249 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.361 km NW of Gizo, Solomon IslandsApril 19, 1936 · 88 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2143 km W of Gizo, Solomon IslandsJuly 29, 1977 · 181 km W of this epicenter
- 7.258 km WSW of Panguna, Papua New GuineaApril 29, 1996 · 297 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2155 km WNW of Malango, Solomon IslandsOctober 14, 1991 · 178 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 70 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2007M8.1
Solomon Islands
1 Apr 2007 · 45 km away
52 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1939M7.9
Solomon Islands
30 Apr 1939 · 262 km away
12 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1939M7.7
Bougainville Island
30 Jan 1939 · 228 km away
5 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1996M7.2
Bougainville Island
29 Apr 1996 · 297 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1975M7.9
Bismarck Sea: Bougainville
20 Jul 1975 · 288 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1959M7.3
Solomon Islands
17 Aug 1959 · 146 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.