QuakeScout
Magnitude5.1

Reviewed by USGSNew Caledonia15y ago

M5.1 earthquake 128 km ENE of Wé, New Caledonia

Saturday, February 26, 2011, 01:03:46 UTC · 20.489°S, 168.412°E

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 128 km ENE of Wé, New Caledonia on Saturday, February 26, 2011, 01:03:46 UTC, at a depth of 36.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on February 6, 2011.

Magnitude
5.1
Moderate · mb
Depth
37 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

0 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

37 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 1,313 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 · 57 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.999 km SW of Port-Vila, VanuatuDecember 2, 1950 · 248 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.828 km ESE of Isangel, VanuatuJune 16, 1910 · 154 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.663 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 14, 1913 · 165 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.6274 km ESE of Tadine, New CaledoniaMarch 16, 1928 · 292 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.447 km NW of Isangel, VanuatuOctober 11, 1992 · 149 km N of this epicenter
  7. 7.363 km S of Port-Vila, VanuatuJuly 23, 1961 · 243 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 33 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 26 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1875M8.1

    Loyalty Islands: Lifou Island

    28 Mar 1875 · 55 km away

    26 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1901M7.9

    Loyalty Islands

    9 Aug 1901 · 235 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1920M8.1

    Loyalty Islands

    20 Sep 1920 · 57 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  4. 1878M7.5

    Tanna Island

    10 Jan 1878 · 166 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1961M7.3

    Vanuatu Islands

    23 Jul 1961 · 230 km away · intensity VI

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 2010M7.3

    Vanuatu Islands

    25 Dec 2010 · 100 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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