QuakeScout
Magnitude4.5

Reviewed by USGSVanuatu16y ago

M4.5 earthquake 71 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

Saturday, October 9, 2010, 10:35:23 UTC · 18.076°S, 167.743°E

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 71 km WSW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu on Saturday, October 9, 2010, 10:35:23 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on October 3, 2010.

Magnitude
4.5
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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

85 tons of TNT

That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

38 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,222 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.11920 Vanuatu EarthquakeSeptember 20, 1920 · 226 km S of this epicenter
  2. 7.999 km SW of Port-Vila, VanuatuDecember 2, 1950 · 34 km S of this epicenter
  3. 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 255 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 167 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.631 km S of Luganville, VanuatuAugust 11, 1965 · 260 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.592 km ESE of Lakatoro, VanuatuNovember 26, 1999 · 190 km N of this epicenter
  7. 7.447 km WSW of Norsup, VanuatuNovember 9, 1910 · 215 km N of this epicenter
  8. 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:

  1. 1875M8.1

    Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island

    28 Mar 1875 · 228 km away

    26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1999M7.5

    Pentecost

    26 Nov 1999 · 190 km away

    10 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1971M7.1

    Espiritu Santo, Port Vila

    27 Oct 1971 · 292 km away · intensity VII

    1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)

  4. 1965M7.6

    Vanuatu Islands

    11 Aug 1965 · 260 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1909

    Espiritu Santo

    8 Jul 1909 · 292 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  6. 1920M8.1

    Loyalty Islands

    20 Sep 1920 · 226 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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