Reviewed by USGSVanuatu17y ago
M5.0 earthquake 88 km NNW of Isangel, Vanuatu
Tuesday, February 17, 2009, 19:21:30 UTC · 18.851°S, 168.854°E
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 88 km NNW of Isangel, Vanuatu on Tuesday, February 17, 2009, 19:21:30 UTC, at a depth of 98.7 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on February 3, 2009.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 99 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
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
124 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
99 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,176 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 · 132 km S of this epicenter
- 7.999 km SW of Port-Vila, VanuatuDecember 2, 1950 · 137 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 111 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 26 km S of this epicenter
- 7.592 km ESE of Lakatoro, VanuatuNovember 26, 1999 · 278 km N of this epicenter
- 7.447 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 11, 1992 · 45 km S of this epicenter
- 7.363 km S of Port-Vila, VanuatuJuly 23, 1961 · 85 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.371 km SW of Isangel, VanuatuApril 9, 2008 · 136 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 33 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 36 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1875M8.1
Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island
28 Mar 1875 · 133 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1999M7.5
Pentecost
26 Nov 1999 · 278 km away
10 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 132 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1878M7.5
Tanna Island
10 Jan 1878 · 41 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1961M7.3
Vanuatu Islands
23 Jul 1961 · 67 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2002M7.2
Efate, Port Vila
2 Jan 2002 · 175 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.