Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands16y ago
M5.3 earthquake 102 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands
Monday, January 18, 2010, 06:00:30 UTC · 11.543°S, 166.240°E
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 102 km SSE of Lata, Solomon Islands on Monday, January 18, 2010, 06:00:30 UTC, at a depth of 56.3 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on January 14, 2010.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 56 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
6 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: shallow
56 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 75 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on January 23, 2010. 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 1,285 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 · 115 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsDecember 31, 1966 · 44 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 109 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8196 km NW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 7, 2009 · 109 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7171 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuApril 21, 1997 · 125 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km NW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 7, 2009 · 165 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 36 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 275 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1997M7.7
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
21 Apr 1997 · 125 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1980M7.5
Santa Cruz Islands: Banks
8 Jul 1980 · 98 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1980M7.9
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
17 Jul 1980 · 115 km away
tsunami
- 1934M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
18 Jul 1934 · 67 km away
tsunami
- 1957M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
17 Dec 1957 · 98 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.