Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands17y ago
M5.9 earthquake 95 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands
Saturday, October 31, 2009, 19:09:51 UTC · 11.376°S, 166.376°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 95 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands on Saturday, October 31, 2009, 19:09:51 UTC, at a depth of 133.9 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on October 23, 2009.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 134 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
11 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 22 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
25 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the African and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
134 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 lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on November 4, 2009. 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 1,226 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9199 km S of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 17, 1980 · 137 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsDecember 31, 1966 · 56 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 121 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8196 km NW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 7, 2009 · 127 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7171 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuApril 21, 1997 · 138 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km NW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 7, 2009 · 182 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 49 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 21 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 292 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1997M7.7
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
21 Apr 1997 · 138 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1980M7.5
Santa Cruz Islands: Banks
8 Jul 1980 · 115 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1980M7.9
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
17 Jul 1980 · 137 km away
tsunami
- 1934M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
18 Jul 1934 · 71 km away
tsunami
- 1957M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
17 Dec 1957 · 109 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.