Reviewed by USGS16y ago
M4.9 earthquake in Santa Cruz Islands
Saturday, May 8, 2010, 09:23:09 UTC · 12.918°S, 166.485°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in Santa Cruz Islands on Saturday, May 8, 2010, 09:23:09 UTC, at a depth of 29.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on May 1, 2010.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 30 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
60 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
30 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on May 28, 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 1,708 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 · 76 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8146 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsDecember 31, 1966 · 117 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8186 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuDecember 17, 1957 · 60 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8196 km NW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 7, 2009 · 46 km N of this epicenter
- 7.745 km NNE of Port-Olry, VanuatuMay 20, 1965 · 207 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7171 km NNW of Sola, VanuatuApril 21, 1997 · 43 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km NW of Sola, VanuatuOctober 7, 2009 · 10 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7138 km SSE of Lata, Solomon IslandsJuly 18, 1934 · 123 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 30 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1971M7.1
Espiritu Santo, Port Vila
27 Oct 1971 · 297 km away · intensity VII
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1973M7.5
Espiritu Santo, Luganille
28 Dec 1973 · 172 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1910M7.2
Espiritu Santo
10 Nov 1910 · 120 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1973M7.2
Luganville, Lamap
29 Dec 1973 · 249 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1990M6.4
Espiritu Santo
27 Jul 1990 · 291 km away · intensity V
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 2002M5.9
Mere Lava Island
27 Nov 2002 · 227 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.