M6.1 Earthquake Strikes SW of Nadi, Fiji

Strong Earthquake Strikes 152km SW of Nadi, Fiji

EQ Details

Magnitude: 6.1
Location: 18.588°S, 176.230°E; depth=10.0 km
Time: 06:11:41 UTC  2017-01-14
Source: USGS/EHP

• Analysis available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Powerful Quake Rattles Islands of Vanuatu

M7.1 Quake Strikes near Port-Olry, Vanuatu

Centered at 14.842°S, 167.306°E the quake occurred at a depth of 127.0 km, reported USGS/EHP.

At least one aftershock measuring 4.7Mw occurred, as of posting.

EQ Details

Magnitude: 7.1Mw
Time: 2015-10-20 21:52:02 UTC
Location: 14.842°S, 167.306°E
Depth: 127.0 km
Distances:

• 35km (22mi) NE of Port-Olry, Vanuatu
• 77km (48mi) N of Luganville, Vanuatu
• 337km (209mi) NNW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

No destructive tsunami due to event depth.

Another Powerful Quake Strikes Solomon Islands

SEISMIC HAZARD
INTENSE SEISMICITY
.

M7.4 Strikes 111km S of Kirakira, Solomon Islands

The quake was the second powerful quake occurring along the South Solomon Trench since 20:14UTC on Saturday, and the latest event in the ongoing episode of intense seismicity on or near the boundary between the Australia and Pacific plates.

FIRE-EARTH Earthquake Forecast

MEGA EARTHQUAKE COULD STRIKE SOLOMON ISLANDS

A  detailed FIRE-EARTH Earthquake Forecast appeared in the Bulletin NO. 84, which was released on April 12.

The next FIRE-EARTH Earthquake Forecast will be issued together with the April 13 Bulletin, later today.

EQ Details
Magnitude: 7.4Mw
Event Time:  12:36:18 UTC on 2014-04-13
Location:11.451°S 162.069°E depth=35.0km (21.7mi)
Nearby Cities

• 111km (69mi) S of Kirakira, Solomon Islands
• 321km (199mi) SE of Honiara, Solomon Islands

Source: USGS/EHP

 

Tsunami Evaluation

PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 13:18UTC 13 APR 2014

It is not known that a tsunami was generated. This warning is based only on the earthquake evaluation. An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines in the region near the epicenter within minutes to hours.  Authorities in the region should take appropriate action in response to this possibility. This center will continue to monitor sea level gauges nearest the region and report if any tsunami wave activity is observed. The warning will not expand to other areas of the Pacific unless additional data are received to warrant such an expansion.

Estimated initial tsunami wave arrival times at forecast points within the warning and watch areas are given below. Actual arrival times may differ and the initial wave may not be the largest. a tsunami is a series of waves and the time between successive waves can be five minutes to one hour.

 LOCATION         FORECAST POINT     COORDINATES     ARRIVAL TIME
 --------------------------------    ------------    ------------
 SOLOMON ISLANDS  KIRAKIRA           10.4S 161.9E    1258Z 13 APR
                  SANTA_CRUZ_ISLA    10.9S 165.9E    1314Z 13 APR
                  AUKI                8.8S 160.6E    1318Z 13 APR
                  HONIARA             9.3S 160.0E    1324Z 13 APR
                  MUNDA               8.4S 157.2E    1336Z 13 APR
                  GHATERE             7.8S 159.2E    1341Z 13 APR
                  FALAMAE             7.4S 155.6E    1355Z 13 APR
                  PANGGOE             6.9S 157.2E    1359Z 13 APR
 VANUATU          ESPERITU_SANTO     15.1S 167.3E    1341Z 13 APR
 PAPUA NEW GUINE  WOODLARK_ISLAND     9.0S 152.9E    1408Z 13 APR
                  AMUN                6.0S 154.7E    1409Z 13 APR
                  KIETA               6.1S 155.6E    1418Z 13 APR

Related Links

• Powerful Earthquake Strikes Solomon Islands April 13, 2014
• 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

Powerful Earthquake Strikes Solomon Islands

SEISMIC HAZARD
.

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

M6.5 Strikes South of the Fiji Islands

15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand since 1900

Earthquake Details

Magnitude: 6.5Mw
Event Time: 2014-03-26 03:29:36 UTC
Location: 26.092°S 179.279°E depth=493.1km (306.4mi)
Nearby Cities:

• 448km (278mi) NW of Raoul Island, New Zealand
• 786km (488mi) SW of Nuku`alofa, Tonga
• 884km (549mi) S of Suva, Fiji

Seismotectonics of the Eastern Margin of the Australia Plate

Excerpts from the Tectonic Summary [sourced from USGS]

Since 1900 there have been 15 M7.5+ earthquakes recorded near New Zealand. Nine of these, and the four largest, occurred along or near the Macquarie Ridge, including the 1989 M8.2 event on the ridge itself, and the 2004 M8.1 event 200 km to the west of the plate boundary, reflecting intraplate deformation. The largest recorded earthquake in New Zealand itself was the 1931 M7.8 Hawke’s Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people.

Large earthquakes are common along the North New Hebrides trench and have mechanisms associated with subduction tectonics, though occasional strike slip earthquakes occur near the subduction of the D’Entrecasteaux ridge. Within the subduction zone 34 M7.5+ earthquakes have been recorded since 1900. On October 7, 2009, a large interplate thrust fault earthquake (M7.6) in the northern North New Hebrides subduction zone was followed 15 minutes later by an even larger interplate event (M7.8) 60 km to the north. It is likely that the first event triggered the second of the so-called earthquake “doublet”.

Magnitude 6.8 Quake strikes Kermadec Isls Region

An earthquake with preliminary magnitude 6.8 struck  in the Kermadec Islands region, north of New Zealand

For background information and earlier FEWW forecast see:

• Magnitude 7 Earthquake Hits Kermadec Islands
• Earthquake Cluster Zone Closing in on New Zealand

Earthquake Details (USGS)

Original Images: USGS.

Magnitude: 6.8
Date-Time:

• Tuesday, December 09, 2008 at 06:23:59 UTC
• Tuesday, December 09, 2008 at 06:23:59 PM at epicenter

Location: 31.092°S, 176.965°W
Depth: 13.6 km (8.5 miles) (poorly constrained)
Region: Kermadec Islands region

Distances:

• 190 km (115 miles) E of L’Esperance Rock, Kermadec Islands
• 220 km (140 miles) SSE of Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands
• 990 km (620 miles) NE of Auckland, New Zealand
• 1350 km (840 miles) NE of WELLINGTON, New Zealand

Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 6.1 km (3.8 miles); depth +/- 22.4 km (13.9 miles)

Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)

[UPDATE: December 12, 2008]

The above mainshock was followed by two strong aftershocks measuring 5.1 Mw:

Aftershock #1
Magnitude: 5.1
Date-Time:  Friday, December 12, 2008 at 10:46:18 UTC
Location:  31.101°S, 176.838°W
Depth:  10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region: KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
Distances:

• 200 km (125 miles) E of L’Esperance Rock, Kermadec Islands
• 230 km (140 miles) SSE of Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands
• 1005 km (620 miles) NE of Auckland, New Zealand
• 1350 km (840 miles) NE of WELLINGTON, New Zealand

Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 13.3 km (8.3 miles); depth fixed by location program
Source: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID: us2008amai

Aftershock #2
Magnitude: 5.1
Date-Time:  Friday, December 12, 2008 at 11:55:29 UTC
Location: 31.096°S, 176.870°W
Depth: 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region: KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
Distances:

• 195 km (120 miles) E of L’Esperance Rock, Kermadec Islands
• 225 km (140 miles) SSE of Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands
• 1005 km (620 miles) NE of Auckland, New Zealand
• 1350 km (840 miles) NE of WELLINGTON, New Zealand

Location Uncertainty:  horizontal +/- 11.9 km (7.4 miles); depth fixed by location program
Source:  USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID:  us2008amam

Related Links:

• Magnitude 7 Earthquake Hits Kermadec Islands
• Earthquake Cluster Zone Closing in on New Zealand
• Mt Ruapehu Eruption Alert
• Another large quake strikes NZ

Earthquake Cluster Zone Closing in on New Zealand

Another Powerful Quake Hits Kermadec Isles Region

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake followed by two strong aftershocks hit the Kermadec Islands region in line with FEWW forecast.

10-degree Map Centered at 30°S,175°W

Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands, Global Reference Map. USGS

FEWW Comments:

• The center of earthquake cluster incidence within the epicentral region of the  Kermadec Trench appears to be shifting south-southwest of its historical position, and closer to New Zealand North Island.

• According to FEWW analysis a magnitude 8+ earthquake would likely strike the Kermadec Isles epicentral region centered in an area about 285km SSE of Raoul Island [~900km NE of Auckland, New Zealand] before the New Year. Since 1900 only one other earthquake with a magnitude of 8 has struck the region. [1917 May 1 18:26 UTC, Depth: 60 km – USGS data]

Tectonic Setting

Kermadec Trench – Epicentral Region. Image Credit: USGS

Related Links:

• Magnitude 7 Earthquake Hits Kermadec Islands
• Mt Ruapehu Eruption Alert

Main Shock

Magnitude: 6.5
Date-Time: Sunday, October 05, 2008 at 09:12:40 PM at epicenter
Location: 30.327°S, 177.195°W
Depth: 35 km (21.7 miles) set by location program
Region: KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
Distances:

• 135 km (85 miles) SSE of Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands
  205 km (125 miles) NE of L’Esperance Rock, Kermadec Islands
  1035 km (650 miles) NE of Auckland, New Zealand
  1410 km (880 miles) NNE of WELLINGTON, New Zealand

Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 11.3 km (7.0 miles); depth fixed by location program
Source: USGS NEIC
Event ID    us2008xuan

Aftershocks

1. Magnitude:    5.2
Date-Time: Sunday, October 05, 2008 at 10:45:00 UTC [ October 05, 2008 at 10:45:00 PM at epicenter]
Location:    30.856°S, 176.659°W
Source:    USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID: us2008xuas

2. Magnitude:    5.2
Date-Time:  Sunday, October 05, 2008 at 14:09:50 UTC [October 06, 2008 at 02:09:50 AM at epicenter]
Location: 31.156°S, 177.721°W
Source: USGS NEIC
Event ID:  us2008xua8