Powerful Earthquake Strikes Solomon Islands
Posted by feww on April 13, 2014
SEISMIC HAZARD
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M7.6 – 100km SSE of Kirakira, Solomon Islands
Centered at 11.315°S, 162.211°E the quake struck at a depth of about 29.3km (18.2mi), said USGS/EHP.
The powerful shock occurred along the South Solomon Trench and was the latest event in an episode of intense seismicity on or near the boundary between the Australia and Pacific plates.
The earthquake was downgraded from an initial magnitude 7.8 to 7.6Mw
The quake was followed by about a dozen significant aftershocks, as of posting.
Tsunami Evaluation
Initially, the PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER (PTWC) issued an expanding tsunami warning and watch for parts of the pacific located close to the earthquake.
In a latest bulletin, ISSUED AT 21:36UTC on 12 APR 2014, PTWC said:
SEA LEVEL READINGS INDICATE A TSUNAMI WAS GENERATED. IT MAY HAVE BEEN DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS NEAR THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. FOR THOSE AREAS – WHEN NO MAJOR WAVES ARE OBSERVED FOR TWO HOURS AFTER THE ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL OR DAMAGING WAVES HAVE NOT OCCURRED FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS THEN LOCAL AUTHORITIES CAN ASSUME THE THREAT IS PASSED. DANGER TO BOATS AND COASTAL STRUCTURES CAN CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS DUE TO RAPID CURRENTS. AS LOCAL CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE A WIDE VARIATION IN TSUNAMI WAVE ACTION THE ALL CLEAR DETERMINATION MUST BE MADE BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES.
Earthquake Details
Magnitude: 7.6Mw
Event Time: 20:14:39 UTC on 2014-04-12
Location:11.315°S 162.211°E depth=29.3km (18.2mi)
Nearby Cities:
- 100km (62mi) SSE of Kirakira, Solomon Islands
- 323km (201mi) SE of Honiara, Solomon Islands
Earthquake Location Maps
Source: USGS/EHP
Source: USGS/EHP
FIRE-EARTH Earthquake Forecast
A FIRE-EARTH Earthquake Forecast appeared in the April 12 Bulletin, which was released on April 12.
The next FIRE-EARTH Earthquake Forecast will be issued together with the April 13 Bulletin, later today.
Related Links
- FIRE-EARTH Bulletin NO. 84 April 12, 2014
- M7.1 EQ Strikes Near Panguna, PNG April 11, 2014
- M6.5 Quake Strikes PNG April 12, 2014
Fire Earth 
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