Reviewed by USGSVanuatu16y ago
M4.4 earthquake 92 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu
Monday, September 27, 2010, 19:56:15 UTC · 18.132°S, 167.549°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 92 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Monday, September 27, 2010, 19:56:15 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
17 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the New Hebrides 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on October 9, 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 1,192 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 · 228 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.999 km SW of Port-Vila, VanuatuDecember 2, 1950 · 29 km S of this epicenter
- 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 266 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 179 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.631 km S of Luganville, VanuatuAugust 11, 1965 · 262 km N of this epicenter
- 7.592 km ESE of Lakatoro, VanuatuNovember 26, 1999 · 203 km N of this epicenter
- 7.447 km WSW of Norsup, VanuatuNovember 9, 1910 · 214 km N of this epicenter
- 7.443 km W of Norsup, VanuatuAugust 13, 1965 · 231 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 40 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 37 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1875M8.1
Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island
28 Mar 1875 · 231 km away
26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1999M7.5
Pentecost
26 Nov 1999 · 203 km away
10 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1971M7.1
Espiritu Santo, Port Vila
27 Oct 1971 · 295 km away · intensity VII
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1965M7.6
Vanuatu Islands
11 Aug 1965 · 262 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1909
Espiritu Santo
8 Jul 1909 · 295 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1920M8.1
Loyalty Islands
20 Sep 1920 · 228 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.