M5.5 earthquake 73 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 73 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands on Mon, Mar 25, 1985, 7:56 PM GMT+11 (08:56 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M6.0 69 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Mw, moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-03-25 08:56:06 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 11.389° S, 165.739° E
- Region
- Solomon Islands
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.42 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.4 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 8S, 13C Centroid Location: Origin Time 08:56:10.6 0.9 Lat 12.19S 0.20 Lon 166.07E 0.17 Dep 32.810.7 Half-duration 1.5 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**24 D-CM Mrr=0.49 0.08 Mtt=0.05 0.16 Mff=-0.53 0.16 Mrt=0.91 0.31 Mrf=-1.29 0.43 Mtf=0.26 0.12 Principal Axes: (T) Val=1.63 Plg=54 Azm=47 (N) Val=0.10 Plg=6 Azm=146 (P) Val=-1.73 Plg=35 Azm=241 Best Double Couple:Mo=1.7*10**24 NP1:Strike=0 Dip=11 Slip=124 NP2:Strike=145 Dip=81 Slip=84
From the USGS event page for usp0002d6h. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.5 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.069 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands · 15150 days ago · 33 km deep · 8 km away
- 4.973 km S of Lata, Solomon Islands · 15150 days ago · 33 km deep · 11 km away
- 5.068 km SW of Lata, Solomon Islands · 15149 days ago · 33 km deep · 44 km away
- 4.6124 km SE of Lata, Solomon Islands · 15115 days ago · 33 km deep · 96 km away
Earthquakes todaySolomon Islands earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002d6h (also filed as gcmtb032585b, gcmt19850325085605, iscgem530963). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 1:50 PM UTC.