Reviewed by USGSSolomon Islands16y ago
M5.1 earthquake 56 km SSW of Lata, Solomon Islands
Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 12:56:49 UTC · 11.216°S, 165.647°E
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 56 km SSW of Lata, Solomon Islands on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 12:56:49 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on January 18, 2010.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 35 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
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
45 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
35 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 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 1,189 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 · 148 km S of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsDecember 31, 1966 · 115 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 175 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8196 km NW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 7, 2009 · 165 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7171 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuApril 21, 1997 · 189 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km NW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 7, 2009 · 220 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 107 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1997M7.7
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
21 Apr 1997 · 189 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1980M7.5
Santa Cruz Islands: Banks
8 Jul 1980 · 155 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1980M7.9
Santa Cruz Islands; Vanuatu
17 Jul 1980 · 148 km away
tsunami
- 1934M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
18 Jul 1934 · 141 km away
tsunami
- 1957M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
17 Dec 1957 · 166 km away
- 1966M7.8
Santa Cruz Islands
31 Dec 1966 · 115 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.